Congress, TRS trade barbs on KCR’s national political ambitions

Hyderabad: The Congress party and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) continued to trade barbs a day after Rahul Gandhi ridiculed Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s national political ambitions.

TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday took a dig at the Congress MP with the remark that international leader Rahul Gandhi who can’t even win his own Parliament seat in Amethi ridiculed KCR, as the Chief Minister is commonly known.

“Wannabe PM should first convince his people to elect him as an MP,” tweeted Rama Rao on a day when Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Hyderabad.

At a news conference on Monday, Rahul Gandhi poked fun at KCR with the remark that he is welcomed to even believe that he is running a global party.

When asked about the decision of TRS to enter national politics by changing its name to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the Congress leader had stated that any leader has the right to imagine his party in whatever way he wants.

He went on to day that the Chief Minister is even welcomed to think that he is running an international party that is fighting elections in the US or China.

“If the Chief Minister of Telangana believes that he is running a national party, that is perfectly okay. There is no problem, he can believe it. If he believes that he is running a global party, that is also fine,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Congress general Jairam Ramesh fired more salvos on Tuesday and said: “Rahul Gandhi ji has already said that if KCR is dreaming that TRS becomes Global Rashtra Samithi (GRS), we have no problem.

“If he wants to become GRS, let me remind him that in 2007 TRS was stuck in a passport scam. You may remember there was a big passport scam and several TRS leaders were involved in it. I want to remind KTR of the history of TRS.”

The Congress leader also called KCR the 8th Nizam, saying: “We live in a democracy. Congress is not a party which runs on Nizam Shahi. We know the 8th Nizam is sitting in Hyderabad.”

The Congress MP slammed the TRS government for the bad condition of roads in Telangana even after eight years of the state’s formation.

“Who benefited from the formation of Telangana? This is our question. Dalits, adivasis and backward classes have not benefited. Only one person and one family benefited.”

The Congress leader also disputed the claim of TRS leaders that they developed Hyderabad in the last eight years.

He claimed that the city developed in the last 30 years especially when Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was the Chief Minister.

He recalled that Hyderabad was the information technology capital before 2014. “Institutions like DRDO, CSIR, ISB, NALSAR and Shamshabad airport all came up before 2014,” he said.

Ramesh said the development in Hyderabad happened due to efforts of former Chief Ministers Rajasekhara Reddy, Chandrababu Naidu, Vijayabhaskar Reddy, N.T. Rama Rao.

“The TRS has done nothing. They have inherited a lot,” he remarked.