Telangana CM retorts to PM Modi’s criticism of Congress govt
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy said the Prime Minister’s statement had several misconceptions and factual errors
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a jibe at the Congress governments for making promises which it will never be able to deliver in their states, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday retorted, saying the Prime Minister’s statement had several misconceptions and factual errors.
In a post on X tagging Modi, Reddy asserted that every promise made by the Congress government in Telangana to people is a sacred commitment for it. “Dear Shri @narendramodi Ji, I am happy to clarify several misconceptions and factual errors in your statements about my state and our government,” he said.
He said since December 7, 2023, when the Congress government took oath in Telangana, a wave of joy and hope has swept the state, after a near-decade of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS)’s misrule.
He pointed out that within two days of taking charge, the Telangana government unveiled the delivery of its first and second promises – free bus travel for women across all Telangana state road transport corporation (TGSRTC) buses, and a healthcare and hospitalisation cover of ₹10 lakh under Rajiv Arogya Sree.
“In last 11 months, our sisters and mothers of Telangana have travelled without paying a single rupee bus fare, undertaking over 101 crore free bus trips across the state, saving ₹3,433.36 crore in less than a year,” he said.
Revanth Reddy further said even before completing the first year, his government had implemented India’s largest ever, state-level farmer loan waiver, realising the slogan of Rythe Raju (Farmer is the King). “Over 22 lakh farmers are now free of any loan and are living like kings, with all loans up to ₹2 lakh being waived. We have put over ₹18,000 crore into farmers’ accounts in 25 days,” he said.
He said women were blessing his government because they get free electricity, with no domestic power charge for their homes up to 200 units.
“They are delighted that while they suffer high prices of gas cylinders in BJP- ruled states, they get a cylinder for only ₹500 in the Congress-ruled Telangana. In our tenure till now, over 1.31 crore gas cylinder refills have taken place, with over 42,90,246 beneficiaries smiling their way to the kitchen every day,” he said.
Reddy pointed out that the Congress government had taken up the biggest recruitment drive for the unemployed youth, after a long wait of over a decade for government jobs. It has been regularly holding exams of all levels - Group 1, 2, 3 and 4.
“In less than 11 months, the Congress government has provided jobs for over 50,000 eligible youth, a record unmatched by any BJP state government,” he said.
Reddy further said school children, ignored by the previous BRS government, have been jubilant as after over a decade, the Congress government had increased allocations by over 40 percent for food and cosmetics for poor children in welfare hostels.
“We are cleaning and rejuvenating our River Musi that was neglected in the past. We are also protecting our lakes, nullahs and other precious water bodies, encroached upon and destroyed wantonly in the last 10 years. Not a single inch of lakes has been encroached upon since the Congress came to power. And also, we are creating a Future City and a masterplan is being finalised,” he said.
Reddy said his government had also set the ball rolling for the Young India Skills University, YI Sports University and YI Integrated Residential schools.
“Every promise made by us to people is a sacred commitment for us. In the last 11 months, we have reversed an air of gloom and despair under BRS, and ended the darkness. Like a morning sun, Telangana is now rising,” he said.