TRS turned Hyderabad into 'flood city'; People want to elect a BJP Mayor in GHMC polls: Javadekar

Speaking after releasing a 'charge sheet' against the TRS ruling the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), he alleged it failed to fulfill its poll promises and also accused the party government led by K Chandrasekhar Rao in Telangana of indulging in corruption. TRS made a promise to make Hyderabad a Global City but it has been made into a flood city, he said, in an apparent reference to one of the worst deluges the state capital faced in recent times last month following unprecedented rains.

(Eds: Updates with TRS reax) Hyderabad, Nov 22 (PTI): Exuding confidence of BJP's win in the elections to the city civic body, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Sunday the result of Dubbak assembly bypoll where the saffron party upset the ruling TRS will be repeated. Speaking after releasing a 'charge sheet' against the TRS ruling the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), he alleged it failed to fulfill its poll promises and also accused the party government led by K Chandrasekhar Rao in Telangana of indulging in corruption.

TRS made a promise to make Hyderabad a Global City but it has been made into a flood city, he said, in an apparent reference to one of the worst deluges the state capital faced in recent times last month following unprecedented rains. Javadekar said that in the GHMC polls to be held on December 1, the fight was for who will be the city's Mayor.

"The question is whether an MIM's Mayor is needed or BJP's Mayor is needed. The elections are being contested on this question. Because a vote to KCR (as the Telangana Chief Minister is popularly known) means vote to the MIM," the senior BJP leader and the Information and Broadcasting Minister told reporters here. "Vote to Congress means vote to the MIM and vote to MIM means for division. And hence this time the people here have decided that a Mayor should be from BJP," he said.

Strongly reacting to Javadekar over the charge sheet, TRS Working President and state IT Minister K T Rama Rao said charge sheets should be filed against the BJP for 'failure' to honour its poll promises, including two crore jobs each year. He said 132 crore charge sheets should be filed against BJP for "failure to give Rs 15 lakh" to the people.

"Another 12 crore charge sheets should be filed against the BJP by the youth of this country for not creating two crore jobs each year, as promised, Rama Rao, son of the chief minister, said. Why will you file charge sheets against us? Will you file charge sheets for setting up Annapurna centres, CCTV cameras, LED lights, or for resolving power issues and water problems, or for bringing investments to Hyderabad? he asked, referring to the welfare and development measures taken up by the TRS government.

He claimed it was the TRS leaders who stood by the people during the COVID-19 and Hyderabad floods while the BJP and Congress leaders were 'busy' elsewhere. Javadekar said what happened in Dubbak, where the BJP upset the TRS, was going to be repeated in Hyderabad also.

The results of Dubbak showed which way the wind was blowing in Telangana. "The same wind is blowing in Hyderabad also," he claimed adding "We are fighting for (BJPs) victory." He described the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) as 'dynastic' parties. "It is KCR and KT Rama Rao (KCRs son and state Minister) in TRS and Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi (Asaduddin's brother and MLA) in AIMIM. We have seen in the last six years these parties indulged in loot," Javadekar alleged.

He claimed that there was only one speciality in Telangana and it was corruption. "There is debt on state and assets in KCR's name. The assets of KCR and his friends are growing while assets of state are declining and its debts are growing. And because of this BJP brought out a charge sheet highlighting the 60 failures of TRS which has run away from keeping its promises," he said.

The TRS government did not keep its promises of providing one lakh government jobs, making one lakh 2 bedroom, hall and kitchen houses, the senior BJP leader charged. He alleged corruption and irregularities in disbursal of Rs 10,000 financial assistance which was announced as immediate relief to each flood-affected household in Hyderabad and claimed only a few people got the money.

Javadekar accused the TRS government of not implementing central schemes, including the PMJAY health insurance scheme under which COVID-19 treatment is covered, in the state. COVID-19 treatment was not covered under Telangana's 'Aarogyasri' health scheme due to which those affected by the coronavirus had to spend lakhs of rupees for treatment, he claimed.

TRS ruled with MIM (in GHMC) and now say they don't have an alliance with the latter. But the two will become friends soon after election results, he said. Responding to a query, the Union Minister said BJP was in power in 100 municipal corporations in the country and there have been no riots there and that was the party's speciality.

"The BJP has compassion for all sections of society and hence we will present an Hyderabad which is riot-free, corruption-free and MIM-free with development," he said. Javadekar rejected KCR's recent statement that the Centre was privatising PSUs, including the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), saying no disinvestment had been done in LIC and Railways.

The days of giving false information and misguiding people are over. People want KCR to speak on Hyderabad's issues and not LIC and other matters. They want reply on what had been done in the past five years in the city, he said. On the TRS supremo's statement that he would soon convene a conclave of opposition leaders to launch a united fight against the BJP-led NDA, Javadekar sought to downplay it, saying he (KCR) had made similar attempts (before 2019 general elections) but did not get any response.

KCRs daughter and MLC K Kavitha also hit back at Javadekar and accused the BJP of discriminating against states where the party was not in power. The extent of 'discrimination' could be gauged from 'lack' of additional funding to Telangana which was carved only six years ago, she said.

Similarly, during the recent floods here, the Centre did not release any financial assistance while it had sanctioned over Rs 600 crore to monsoon-hit Karnataka, she alleged..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)