BJP releases ‘Telangana Declaration’; attacks KCR-led TRS’ dynastic rule

The BJP National Executive which met in Hyderabad for two days accorded primacy to the formation of government in Telangana in the next Assembly elections. Expressing the intent, the party released the ‘Telangana Declaration’ which said the BJP is the only option for the state to get itself rescued from the current dynastic rule, nepotism, and corruption.

Earlier, launching a frontal attack on the dynastic rule allegedly perpetrated by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) in Telangana, the party said Telangana was one of the five states, it was targeting to bring under its fold.

The others are West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Odisha, the states which have not been amenable to the party since 2014.

Also read: BJP will come to power in Bengal, Andhra, TN, will rule 30-40 years: Amit Shah

Stating that the people of the country have given approval to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s politics of development and performance, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while moving the political resolution, called upon the people to put an end to the politics of family rule, casteism, and appeasement.

Briefing about the resolution, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the party would expand to South India in the next round of elections and the collective hope was visible in the meeting.

Another Union minister Piyush Goyal said the people of Telangana were craving for change and the BJP would terminate the family rule of KCR with the help of the people. The virulent attack on PM Modi by chief minister KCR and his son KT Rama Rao was the manifestation of fear of losing power.

Goyal said the state, which was steeped in corruption, would witness ‘double engine’ growth soon with a BJP rule in the state and Modi government at the Centre.

Later in the afternoon, the party released a declaration on the political situation in Telangana.

The party expressed its deep concern over the “severe deterioration in the economic, social, and human development in the state of Telangana”.

Also read: At Hyderabad meet, BJP takes stock of schemes’ outreach, slams KCR

It said, the degeneration that the state has witnessed over the last eight years was unparalleled and responsibility lies squarely with the state government.

BJP recalled its role in the ‘emotional mass movement for separate Telangana’.

“The struggle for the state of Telangana like the struggle for the liberation of Hyderabad Samsthan to ensure its merger with the Indian union is one of the momentous episodes in the post-Independent history of India. The people of the state, especially the youth, students, and employees, sustained long and spirited struggles to achieve a separate state. They received tremendous support from all sections of the population. The movement in its many phases witnessed the sacrifice of scores of youth by taking recourse to the supreme sacrifice. The collective will of the people of Telangana, amply supported by a constructive struggle of the BJP, created a compelling situation which led to the formation of Telangana state in 2014,” the BJP said in its statement on Telangana.

‘People feel betrayed’

The BJP said during the eight-year period after the achievement of a separate Telangana, the people of the state “feel betrayed” as the dream of Neellu, Nidhulu, and Niyamakalu (water, funds, and filling employment vacancies) remain unfulfilled.

“The BJP supported Telangana, with the intention that the aspirations of people of Telangana, especially the youth, students, farmers, and other marginalised sections, would fructify. After eight years of the current dispensation, the position of Telangana has become worse. The BJP expected the problems of the marginalised and the youth to be addressed immediately. However, there has neither been any recruitment drive nor has there been any effort to uplift the marginalised such as the Dalits and women, politically, socially, and economically. On the contrary, apart from issuing notifications and sham announcements on infeasible schemes, nothing concrete has happened till date,” the statement added.

Narrating the situation in Telangana, the BJP’s statement said the TRS government failed to live up to the expectations of the people.

“The ruling dispensation had promised to fill one lakh vacancies in its 2014 manifesto but failed to do so. Similarly, the universities of Telangana whose role was critical and crucial in the formation of Telangana, today are in dismal condition with 70% of the faculty positions remaining vacant and an acute dearth of funds for research, development, and infrastructure creation. The state of school education is even worse with no recruitment of teachers and school buildings in utter dilapidation,” the party said.

The BJP alleged that during the last eight years, Telangana had witnessed a brazen and blatant attempt to perpetuate the dynasty. “The misuse of power by the son of the chief minister and the family members speaks for itself. The governance is centered around the family; this obviously leads to rampant corruption and the accumulation of illicit wealth. The law and order situation is dismal in the state. The leader in the ruling party, their partners in power, and their siblings are involved in heinous crimes. The police are misused to foist false cases on opposition parties.”

Summarising the reasons for the “pathetic” governance record and the current state of affairs as the “dynasty”, the statement said the BJP is the only option for a developed and inclusive Telangana.