In the midst of allegations and counter allegations in poll bound Telangana, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram has accused the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) of being a "proxy" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and both working in tandem in the state. As the poll date is inching closer, the leader asserted that TRS should be ousted since it has failed to stand up against the BJP and its policies.
Addressing media here on Wednesday, Chidambaram said: "The TRS has not stood up to or opposed the BJP. That stance puts them squarely in the column of the BJP; the battle in Telangana is to defeat the TRS which is a proxy of the BJP."
The former union finance minister further said that flawed decisions of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government like demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) have derailed the country's economic growth and are the primary reason behind the low employment levels.
Chidambaram further accused the BJP of paralysing and misusing a number of government agencies. "How can GDP growth alone be high? Terrorist violence has increased in the country. The planning commission has been shut down. Government agencies like the Union Public Service Commission, University Grants Commission, Central Information Commission, Central Vigilance Commission, etc are on the verge of a breakdown," Chidambaram said.
"The reputation of investigating agencies like CBI and ED has been irretrievably tarnished. RBI is also the victim of BJP government. The TRS should have their stance on these issues, but instead, they support the BJP's misrule in order to sustain its own misrule in Telangana," he added.
He then highlighted a range of promises that the TRS had made but has failed to deliver. "The promises made to the public of Telangana by the TRS like three acres of agricultural land to Dalit families, 12 per cent reservation for Scheduled Tribes, 22 lakh double bedroom houses, one lakh jobs in government, water supply to one crore acres of land, super specialty hospital in every district and 100 bed hospitals in every assembly constituency, free education from kindergarten to post-graduation, etc have not yet been fulfilled," he added.
Chidambaram appealed to the people of Telangana to support the Congress and elect a government that will fulfill the dream that the people of Telangana had when the state was created.
Telangana will go to polls on December 7 to elect the 119 members of legislative assembly, and counting of votes will be held on December 11.