Leaders from other parties would soon join the TRS:KCR

Telangan's Chief Minister KCR on Sunday said that the development of Hyderabad in all spheres will be the prime focus of TRS government in its next  tenure if it wins the 2019 elections. 

He said in the first term, the focus was on uninterrupted power supply, irrigation and drinking water schemes, which were achieved with relentless efforts and in the second term, his focus is to make Hyderabad a “heaven on earth”. 

Mr Rao said the vast experience of city leaders like Danam Nagender will help the TRS government in developing Hyderabad and many more such leaders from other parties would soon join the TRS.

The CM was addressing a meeting in Telangana Bhavan on the occasion of city Congress leader Danam Nagender joining TRS.

“Hyderabad was grossly neglected by governments in undivided AP. They turned Hyderabad into a garbage city. We initiated efforts to transform the city into a global city. However, we could not focus much in our first term as there were other priority issues that need to be addressed on a war footing like resolving power shortage, provide drinking water to all households and irrigation to agriculture. We achieved these tasks with our relentless efforts in the past four years. In the next term, our focus will be on development of Hyderabad,” Mr Rao stated.

Mr Rao said, “Nagender is a senior and an experience leader. He has been in public life for 30 years. He worked as MLA, minister etc. His experience will be helpful for us in development of city.”

Stating that Telangana's economy is witnessing speedy growth compared to any other states in the country, Mr Rao said, “Our own tax revenue is growing by over 20 per cent. There is no dearth of funds for development in Telangana. Who would dare to distribute `12,000 crore cash to farmers through Rythu Bandhu cheques every year? It is possible for only a state like Telangana whose conomy is flourishing.”

Thanking the CM for admitting him in TRS, Mr Nagender said, “I did not join TRS for posts or positions. I am attracted by the welfare and development programmes implemented by KCR garu for the past four years and decided to join TRS to contribute for the growth of Telangana.”

Perform or perish, KCR warns MLAs

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday hinted at “advance polls” in Telangana state.

“TRS candidates are going to win with a margin of 30,000 to 50,000 votes in several constituencies. There is a variation of 30 to 40 per cent between the TRS and other parties in vote share,” Mr Rao said. 

After he returned from Delhi on June 17, Mr Rao spent almost a week in his farmhouse on the city’s outskirts holding deliberations with senior party leaders on early elections. He returned from his farmhouse only on Sunday to welcome Mr Nagendar into the party and spoke about advancing the election date.

The party’s position may be strong in 100-plus constituencies but the performance of nearly 40 sitting MLAs is not up to the mark, according to the survey Mr Rao referred to.

By releasing the survey report, the CM wants to warn and alert these MLAs that if they fail to rectify the situation they could be replaced.

Congress slams Danam’s remark

The Congress on Sunday strongly condemned former Congress leader Danam Nagender’s comments that Backward Classes were being neglected in the party and which is why he joined the TRS. 

TS Congress treasurer Guduru  Narayan Reddy said Mr Nagender never fought for the cause of BCs but only for posts.

“Danam is known for opportunistic politics. He joined the TD when it was ruling AP. He returned to the Congress after YSR became CM in 2004. Danam  shifts to whichever party is in power,” Mr Narayan Reddy said. “He will come to the Congress if it wins in 2019.”

Mr Reddy said though Congress leaders like P. Janardhan Reddy, Marri Shashidhar Reddy and Malreddy Ranga Reddy had won from the city, the party had chosen Mr Nagender to become minister because he was from a BC community.

Former MP Ponnam Prabhakar said home minister Nayani Nara-simha Reddy had once called Mr Nagender a “land grabber”, and demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandra-sekhar Rao clarify on the charge.