BRS helps BJP, Congress will fight it in Telangana: Thakare

BRS is helping the BJP in Telangana and the grand old party will never side with it, AICC in-charge of Telangana Manikrao Thakare told ETV Bharat'a Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: Accusing the BRS of working to help the BJP in Telangana and Maharashtra, Congress on Thursday said it would have no pact with the rival in the southern state.

“The BRS works to help the BJP and harm the Congress in Telangana. They are doing the same in parts of Maharashtra,” AICC in-charge of Telangana Manikrao Thakare told ETV Bharat. The Congress reaction came shortly after BRS leader K Kavitha, daughter of chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, said during a presser in New Delhi that Congress was no longer a national party and had become like a big regional party.

She also asked Congress to drop its arrogance and work with the other regional parties to counter the BJP instead of terming them as team B of the saffron party. “There will be no alliance with the BRS. We will fight them,” said Thakare, echoing an earlier public statement of former party chief Rahul Gandhi. According to Thakare, who got the charge of the southern state a few months ago, the fact that the Congress was going strong in Telangana had worried the BRS.

“Our “Hath se Hath Jodo” program and the ongoing padyatraof state unit chief Revanth Reddy is attracting huge crowds. Naturally, the ruling party is worried,” said Thakare. “The yatra is in Karimnagar today. The participation of people is record high and it has excited the workers across the state to gather at Karimnagar. We have also invited Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel to address the workers,” he said.

The AICC in charge accused the state government of being corrupt and claimed the Congress will oust the BRS from power. “We will free Telangana from the corrupt government. There will be no retreat and no surrender. I have called all the true patriots and fighters at Karimnagar to recall how the Congress granted their wish for a separate state,” said Thakare.

“Only the Congress is with the people and it works for the people,” he said. The yatra, being dubbed as a foot march for change, is modelled on Rahul Gandhi’s nationwide Bharat Jodo Yatra, and plans to cover all 119 assembly seats. According to Thakare, who has been spending most of his time in Hyderabad, since the start of the yatra 24 days ago, he reviewed the ongoing foot march with the block and district level chiefs a few days ago and asked them to ensure that Rahul Gandhi’s message reached every household.

Last year, the Congress had suffered from infighting in the state unit which prompted party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to send veteran Digvijay Singh to study the ground situation and suggest the way forward. Acting upon Singh’s suggestions, Kharge had replaced then AICC in charge Manickam Tagore with Thakare, a former Maharashtra unit chief and a state minister.

“The local unit is united. Since I took over, all the leaders have pledged to work together. There are no differences between them. If there are any small issues, we will sort them out,” Thakare added.