PM's speech in Parliament was 'most disgusting': KCR
Hyderabad, Feb 12: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent speech in Parliament, saying it was the "most disgusting" speech.
Speaking in the state Assembly, Rao came down heavily on Modi for keeping the country in dark over Adani,
"It was the most disgusting speech made by the honourable Prime Minister. I too had hoped that he would speak well at least in the other house because the country is in a critical situation," he said, referring to the Adani issue.
"Rs 10 lakh crore is not a small issue. Crores of people are involved in this but he kept aside the turmoil. He did not say what he would do and kept the country in the dark," KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, added.
Noting that the LIC had invested a lot in Adani Group, he claimed that ever since the scam broke out, billions had evaporated. The entire nation was keen to know what the Centre would do on the Adani issue but he did not utter a word.
KCR said there was no assurance, or no mention of constituting a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) as demanded by the opposition.
He referred to The Economist magazine's story on the Adani episode being a test for Indian capitalism.
Replying to debate on the Appropriation Bill, KCR predicted that the BJP regime would see its end in 2024 and the "repression" and "arrogance" of the Modi government would not last long.
He recalled that after the Bangladesh war, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was hailed as invincible but people had voted out the Congress government.
"Power is temporary and people will teach a fitting lesson with their votes," he said.
KCR said that in 2014 people believed in the BJP and made Modi the Prime Minister, but the country's situation has turned from bad to worse since then.
Citing facts and figures from the Comptroller Auditor General of India, he highlighted the failures of the Modi government.
KCR said had the country performed well as it did during Manmohan Singh's rule, Telangana's GSDP would have been Rs 16 lakh crore against the present Rs 13 lakh crore. He claimed that due to the BJP's failure, Telangana had lost Rs 3 lakh crore.
The BRS leader said that though Manmohan Singh had performed better than Modi, he never boasted about his achievements and went about his job quietly. On the contrary, the BJP government was making tall claims with false achievements despite failing on all fronts. He referred to a book "The Lost Decade" written by journalist Puja Mehra.
He claimed that after the Modi government came to power, 20 lakh people had given up Indian citizenship.
KCR called for a debate on the BJP government's target of becoming a $5 trillion economy and remarked that it had now become a joke. He said that after all the hype, India managed to become just a $3.1 trillion economy. At least, the aim should have been higher and one should have vision and dare to dream, he said.
He pointed out the economy of the US is $25 trillion while that of China is $18.3 trillion.
He said the per capita income of a nation reveals the real story. Among 192 countries, India is 139th position while even Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka were ahead in terms of per capita income.
KCR slammed the Modi government for its discrimination towards Telangana. He pointed out that the Centre announced 157 medical colleges across the country, but not even one was sanctioned for Telangana.
He said he was appealing to the Prime Minister with folded hands to stop discriminating against Telangana. "Telangana is a contributor to the national development. We will definitely cooperate with you and request you to cooperate with us," he said.