Describing Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao as a "merchant of mid-day dreams", senior Congress leader S Jaipal Reddy today said he made promises, which were difficult to implement.
"He (Rao) said double bed room houses (for poor). This is all merchants of mid day-dreams. Not midnight dreams," Reddy said, speaking at a 'Meet the Press' organised by the Press Club of Hyderabad.
Reddy cited providing three acres of land to Dalits as an example of another difficult promise (made by Rao).
"He said three acres of land for all SC/STs. Is he Lord Brahma to expand lands?" he said.
Reddy said that Rao described Telangana as a "rich state" (revenue surplus), but it was he (Reddy) as a Union minister in UPA-2 government, who fought (before the division of undivided Andhra Pradesh) for ensuring that Telangana alone got Rs 25,000 crore (annual) revenue from Hyderabad.
"How did you (Rao) get Rs 25,000 crore revenue? Did you earn? We, when we were in power, I fought and saw that Telangana gets the whole revenue from Hyderabad," he said.
Rao claimed credit for leading the state to being power surplus, but it was the UPA government that ensured that Telangana got 54 per cent of power though it had only 42 per cent of geography in undivided AP, Reddy said.
"Such an arrangement was included in the AP Re-organisation Act," he said.
"If Andhra, with 60 per cent of the region (in undivided AP), got 46 per cent, how come Telangana with 42 per cent got 54 per cent power? That is why you are able to give power," Reddy said.
Asked the reasons for defeat of Congress in 2014 elections in Telangana, though it delivered on separate Telangana demand, he said the Congress high command was misled by some local leaders vis-a-vis its relations with TRS, the bill for dividing undivided AP was passed towards the final stages (before polls) and that TRS had some popularity then.
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