Seeking to boost the party’s chances in Dubbaka byelections, Minister of state for home Kishan Reddy on Friday said separate statehood Telangana was possible only with the BJP.
Kishan Reddy, who is campaigning in support of the party’s candidate Raghunandan Rao, said it is because of efforts of the BJP that Telangana could achieve separate statehood.
“Telangana could not have been possible without the support of the BJP. Separate Telangana could be achieved with the BJP’s support when the Bill was passed in Parliament. The BJP always supported the creation of smaller states. The BJP was in the forefront during the Telangana agitation. Even 100 KCRs could not have achieved Telangana without the support of the BJP,” Kishan Reddy said.
The Lok Sabha MP from Secunderabad constituency said Dubbaka played an important role in the Telangana movement. Kishan Reddy tore into the TRS camp stating that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had failed to keep his promise to make the first CM from the Dalit community.
“The Telangana government has miserably failed to create jobs. For the Rs 1 subsidized rice provided to the poor, the central government is contributing Rs 32, while the KCR government contributes a mere Rs 2,” he pointed out while urging the Dubbaka voters to give a befitting reply to the TRS.
Kishan Reddy, along with BJP national vice-president D K Aruna, OBC president K Laxman, byelection in-charge AP Jitender Reddy, and other leaders are camping in Dubbaka to ensure Raghunandan’s victory in the by-polls scheduled for November 3.
Kishan Reddy had requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the deployment of special police observers and central forces to ensure free and fair polls in Dubbaka. The MoS for Home had already complained to the State and Central Election Commission over the Siddipet incident. BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar was arrested and the police conducted searches at the residences of Raghunandan Rao’s kin and seized more than Rs 18 lakh cash.
TRS appears to be confident in retaining the seat by fielding Solipeta Sujatha, wife of S. Ramalinga Reddy, whose death in August caused the vacancy. The TRS is banking in a sympathy vote. Harish Rao is leaving no stone unturned by camping in Dubbaka for the last several days and intensified the poll campaign by reaching out to voters in his own inimitable style. He is tearing into the opposition camp with his fiery speeches and aggressive rhetoric.
On its part, the saffron party is making all-out efforts to upset the TRS chances and wrest the seat from the pink party. It will be interesting to see how things will pan out. As things stand, battle lines have been drawn with the TRS and the BJP flexing muscles to prove a point.