HYDERABAD: The sea of people at Congress ‘Praja Garjana’ in Sangareddy on Thursday night was the biggest show of strength by his party in Telangana in three years, and was aimed to recreate the magic of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who had addressed a public meeting at the same venue in 1979 to kickstart the party’s election campaign which resulted in a massive victory in the 1980 elections.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi attacked both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for failing to deliver on their promises to provide employment to the youth.
Stating that unemployment is the biggest challenge faced by India, he asked both Modi and Rao to stop making “hollow promises” and set up factories to provide jobs to the youth. He said if they could not face the challenge, the Congress was ready for it.
Recalling that his grandmother fulfilled her promise made at the meeting by providing jobs to one lakh people in the region, Gandhi said Congress would always keep its promises.
Noting that while Modi had promised employment to 2 crore youth in the country, Chandrasekhar Rao had announced that he will give one job to every household in Telangana, he said that a Union Minister, in his reply in parliament, admitted that current level of unemployment in the country is the worst in 60 years. He claimed that Chandrasekhar Rao failed to provide even one job for one village.
Stating that Telangana of the dreams of people was yet to become a reality, the Congress leader promised that if voted to power, Congress would make it a manufacturing hub. “I want to see made in Telangana here,” he said while showing his mobile phone.
He came down heavily on Chandrasekhar Rao for failing to fulfill his promises and alleged that only one family was cornering all the benefits in the new state.
It was not the Telangana for which students, youth, women and other sections of people fought, said Gandhi.
Recalling that Congress carved out the Telangana state, he said people brought Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to power but all their hopes were dashed.
“Is this the Telangana you all fought for,” he asked the people and trained guns on the TRS government for not delivering on its promises, continuing suicides of farmers, its dictatorial attitude and for abuying’ legislators of Congress and other parties.
The Congress leader also had a dig at KCR for building Rs 350 crore house for himself. “No leader in India or abroad has spent such a huge money on his house,” he said.
Drawing parallels between Modi and the TRS chief, Gandhi said both were trying to do away with the revolutionary land acquisition legislation brought by previous Congress government to stop forcible acquisition of land from farmers and to ensure them compensation four times higher than the market price of land.
He wondered why Modi, who speaks against corruption, want to repeal the legislation and why media was also silent on this.
“This is the Gujarat model. This is the Telangana model,” he remarked.
He also alleged that KCR was redesigning the irrigation projects launched by previous Congress governments and making new estimates to fill his pockets and those of his friends.
He said the TRS government was arresting farmers for demanding remunerative prices for their produce.
Before reaching the venue of public meeting, Gandhi met farmers who were arrested in Khammam last month.
Congress General Secretary incharge of party affairs in Telangana Digvijaya Singh, state Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy and senior leaders of the party addressed the meeting.