Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday slammed Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for launching a national party, saying KCR deliberately changed his party TRS's name to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) "on the advice of Tantriks."
Speaking to ANI, Sitharaman said, "Chief Minister KCR, on the advice of Tantriks and numerologists, stopped going to the Secretariat, and did not even induct women for many years in his cabinet. Now has changed the party's name to BRS on Tantrik's advice. After failing and betraying the people of Telangana and the Telugu language, he has now launched BRS as a national party. The new party is doomed to fail."
Sitharaman said TRS was formed to fulfil Telangana sentiment but KCR has failed to deliver. "At that time it was said that funds, water and appointments (jobs) are the priorities for Telangana statehood ambition. It was also stated that there will be social justice and women empowerment. But, for four years from 2014 to 2018, there was not a single woman minister in the TRS government. Even after TRS's re-election, for almost a year, there was no woman minister. Apparently, women were not given representation in the Cabinet on the advice of some Tantriks," she said.
Also Read:KCR stopped going to state secretariat on advice of tantriks: Sitharaman
Sitharaman said Telangana was a revenue surplus state. when it was formed in 2014. Today, she said Telangana has borrowings of Rs 3 lakh crore with the debt-to-GSDP ratio touching almost 25 per cent. Referring to the controversial Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, the Union Finance Minister said the project was supposed to have been completed with a budget of Rs 40,000 crore but has shot up to Rs 1,40,000 crore without a proper explanation on reasons for escalation.
On the promise of jobs, Sitharaman said the TRS government has not kept its promise and betrayed people. "On all three fronts of Funds, Water and jobs, the TRS government has totally failed," she added. KCR on Wednesday launched the Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), marking his first step toward becoming a national party to counter the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The name change and launch of the new party by KCR was done at the State General Body meeting of ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and district-level coordinators among other leaders at the party headquarters Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad. K Chandrashekar Rao presided over the meeting. JD(S) leader and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy along with 20 of his MLAs attended the launch event at the TRS headquarters. The TRS itself was launched in April 2000.
However, the conspicuous absence of KCR's daughter and senior leader K Kavitha from the grand launch event has triggered much speculation on whether fissures have appeared in the state's first family. Not only was Kavitha missing from the high-profile event, but her name was also missing from the TRS list of in-charges for the upcoming Munugode bypoll, raising eyebrows yet again.
Earlier in May this year, KCR in his bid to unite the Opposition to take on the BJP at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, held a meeting with former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda in Bengaluru where he discussed an alternative political outfit to the BJP. (ANI)
