Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Sunday hit out at the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing the saffron party of showing “discrimination” towards South India and insulting Telangana.
The Chief Minister asserted that the BJP will not secure more than 20 seats in South India in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
“The Modi-led BJP will not cross 220 seats. It’s a simple calculation. The southern states, including Lakshadweep, have 131 seats. Of these, the BJP might get up to 13-14 seats in Karnataka, 3-4 seats in Telangana, and perhaps one in Andhra. In all other states, it will draw a blank. So, BJP might not win more than 20 in the southern states,” Reddy stated.
He further alleged that the BJP has not given anything to South India in terms of power, except Pralhad Joshi and Kishan Reddy as cabinet ministers. He said that no significant portfolio has been given to South Indian MPs.
The Congress Chief Minister also alleged that PM Modi has not fulfilled the assurances given to Telangana in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, including setting up a steel plant, a railway coach factory, and others in the state.
Citing PM Modi’s past comments in Parliament, Reddy also alleged that the Prime Minister insulted Telangana.
Reddy claimed that PM Modi had commented that the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government closed the doors of Parliament when the bill for Telangana's formation was passed and that "mother (Andhra Pradesh)" was "killed" to give birth to the "child (Telangana)".
He further assured that the BJP will not return to power at the Centre after the polls.
“Modi and BJP will not come back to power in 2024. The BJP, under Vajpayee, ruled twice, the UPA ruled twice. Now, BJP and NDA have ruled twice. It’s natural justice that will prevail if one thinks they are bigger than the system,” he said.
Published On:
Apr 22, 2024
English (US) ·