Only BJP can give real freedom to Telangana: Amit Shah
Hyderabad, Sep 17 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that only the BJP can give real freedom to Telangana by liberating people from family rule and by providing a government not dependent on the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).
Addressing a public meeting at Nirmal town to mark 'Telangana Liberation Day', Shah said while Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel gave the state independence on September 17, 1948, Telangana will get real freedom only when a government comes to power which is not dependent on the MIM.
The BJP leader slammed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government for not officially celebrating September 17 and promised that once the BJP comes to power in the state, it will officially celebrate 'Telangana Liberation Day' in a befitting manner.
He alleged that the TRS government is not organising official celebrations as it is scared of the (Asaduddin) Owaisi-led MIM.
"Those who want to be scared of Owaisi, let them be. The BJP is not scared of anybody and it does not indulge in politics of appeasement," Shah said.
He warned that taking Owaisi's shelter will not save anyone. "If somebody thinks that he will be safe by taking Owaisi's shelter, I want to tell him that the people of Telangana have woken up and Owaisi's shelter can't save you," he said.
The Home Minister also claimed that during the Telangana movement, K. Chandrasekhara Rao had promised official celebrations of September 17 in Telangana.
"I want to ask the Chief Minister, what happened to your promise of celebrating the day like in Karnataka and Maharashtra," he asked.
Shah pointed out that Telangana and parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra became independent 13 months after India's Independence. He said it was the 'Police Action' launched on the orders of Sardar Patel which led to the Hyderabad state's accession to India. He said the tribals of Nirmal fought against the British and later against the Nizam for independence.
The Home Minister also paid tributes to the freedom fighters of the region and asked Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhara Rao, popularly known as KCR, if he had forgotten their sacrifices.
He exuded confidence that the BJP will form the government in Telangana in 2023, claiming that only the BJP can provide Telangana its due place of pride and be the only alternative to TRS.
Stating that the Congress is getting eliminated across the country, he said that it can't be an alternative to the TRS.
"Even if the Congress becomes an alternative, will they not be scared of Majlis," he asked the people, adding that the Congress can't fight against Owaisi.
Claiming that the people of Telangana are with the BJP, he recalled that the party secured 20 per cent votes in Telangana in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and won four seats. Shah also predicted that the saffron party will make a clean sweep in the next Lok Sabha elections.
Shah said BJP won the Dubbak Assembly seat in the by-election and strengthened its position in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which forced the TRS to seek the support of MIM.
He also appealed to the people of Huzurabad constituency to elect Eatala Rajender in the ensuing by-election. Shah said Rajender joined the BJP as there was no place for him in TRS, which is dominated by a family.
The BJP leader said that he came to Nirmal for the ongoing Praja Sangram yatra of state BJP chief Bandi Sanjay. He said the yatra will touch 119 Assembly constituencies in the next five months and sow the seeds for BJP's victory in the 2023 polls.
Shah said Bandi Sanjay's fight is against a government which is scared of Majlis and against family rule in Telangana.
Union minister G. Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay, party's incharge for Telangana Tarun Chug and other leaders also addressed the public meeting.