Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday in Mahabubnagar (Telangana) that two family-run parties have stopped Telangana from growing. He also said that the people of Telangana want a BJP government in the state.
At a public meeting here, he said that even though Telangana has the “sarkar” (government) of the “car” (the poll sign of BRS), the direction is in the hands of someone else.
“You know who runs the government of Telangana,” he said. Even though he didn’t say who he was talking about, it seems likely that he was talking about Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which is run by Asaduddin Owaisi.
“Telangana’s growth has been slowed by two family-run parties. Corruption and commission are ways to spot them. Both follow the same pattern: “It’s a family party, made by the family, for the family,” he said.
He said that these groups are changing ‘prajatantr’ into ‘pariwar tantr’. “They run their business like a private limited company, but all of the important jobs are held by family members. “They keep outsiders on staff as a way to show off,” Modi said.
The head of BJP said that “Pariwarwadi” parties only care about themselves, while BJP cares about the people. “Our focus is on your families to give you a better life and better prospects,” he said.
In what seemed to be an attack on the six promises the Congress party made for Telangana, Modi said, “Youth, women, and farmers only trust Modi’s promises because Modi keeps his promises.”
He called attention to the upcoming assembly elections by saying that the people of Telangana want change. “After seeing how many people responded, I’m sure that people in Telangana are ready to make a change. Telangana does not want a government that is crooked. Instead, it wants a government that is honest and open. “They don’t want empty promises, but they do want work to be done on the ground,” he said.
Using the passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill as an example, he said that women will have a bigger say not only in Parliament but in all assemblies.
“Sisters of Telangana know that their brother is working hard in Delhi to make a difference in their lives,” said Modi, who often spoke to the crowd in Telugu as if they were his family.
He said that the Central government took several steps to make sure that the lives of the people of Telangana would change. He said this was proof that the BJP was committed to making this happen. He said that Telangana had 2,500 km of national roads up until 2014, but that the same amount was added in just nine years.
Modi said that his government paid Rs. 27,000 crore to Telangana farmers for MSP on rice in 2014. He said that Rs. 3,400 crore was spent on this in 2014.
“This money went straight into the bank accounts of farmers, but the government here has set up programmes to help farms make money. Only graft has happened in the name of irrigation projects. Even though a project was started, farmers are still not getting water. Farm loan waiver was offered, but many farmers died because the promise was empty,” he said.
Even though the BJP doesn’t have a government in Telangana, the Prime Minister said, the party did try to help farms there. To help farmers, the Ramagundam manure plant has been restarted. About Rs. 10,000 crore was put into the bank accounts of farmers through PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.
He said again that the Central government had decided to make a Turmeric Board and a native university in Telangana.
Modi said that if the state government had been interested, the native university would have been built a long time ago. “This government took five years to give land to a native university. “This shows that it doesn’t care about tribal interests or pride,” he said.
