Amit Shah promises Telangana voters free ride to Ayodhya Ram temple

Harking back to the BJP’s old theme in poll season, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday (November 18) announced that the BJP would ensure free visit to Ram temple in Ayodhya for all the residents of Telangana if the saffron party was voted to power in the coming assembly elections.

Addressing an election rally in Gadwal, Shah alleged that Congress hindered and delayed construction of Ram temple for the last 70 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had performed the 'Bhumi Puja' of the temple and the 'pran pratishtha' would be done on January 22, 2024, he said.

Shah urged the gathering to elect the BJP to power in Telangana and said the party-led government would arrange darshan of Lord Ram in Ayodhya free of cost to all.

Training guns on the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led BRS government in Telangana, he said it gave religion-based reservation to Muslims, which is “unconstitutional”.

The BJP has decided to abolish religious reservation and increase quota to OBCs and STs, should it form the next government in the state, he said.

Terming both the Congress and the BRS as an “anti-backward class”, he claimed that only the BJP and PM Modi can do good for BCs. He also reiterated the BJP's promise to make a backward-class leader the Chief Minister of the state.

Listing out the alleged unfulfilled promises of the BRS government, Shah in his address said the KCR dispensation has set a world record in making false promises. Referring to the paper leak of government exams, the Union Minister said the youth of the state are the worst-affected in the BRS regime with question papers of State Public Service Commission leaking 16 times.

The BJP would provide 2.5 lakh government jobs to the youth in five years in a transparent manner, he added.

Noting that the OBCs constitute 52 per cent of the population in Telangana, Shah said the CM post will be given to a candidate from the community if the saffron party comes to power.

Dubbing the BRS as 'Bhrashtachar Rishwat Samiti’, Shah alleged corruption to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees in various government programmes, including Kaleswaram irrigation project and Mission Bhagiratha. The veteran BJP leader also accused BRS MLAs of taking bribe of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh from the beneficiaries of the 'Dalit Bandhu' scheme.

Continuing his attack on the BRS government, he alleged that it was indulging in appeasement politics. The government has given second language status to Urdu and provided 4 percent reservation to Muslims, he pointed out.

Calling the Congress and BRS as 'parivarvad' (dynasty politics) parties, Shah claimed that Rao wanted to make his son KT Rama Rao the Chief Minister, while Sonia Gandhi wanted to make her son Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister. “We have decided that if our government comes, no son or daughter will become Chief Minister but a backward class leader from a poor household would become the CM.

“The present election is a contest between PM Modi's good governance and KCR's negligence,” he added.

Shah reiterated that the Hyderabad 'Liberation Day' (September 17, 1948, the day the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad under Nizam rule merged with the Indian Union) would be celebrated officially.

(With agency inputs)