Congress running a land-grabbing regime in Telangana: BJP

The Revanth Reddy-led Congress Government in Telangana is functioning solely by “selling public land and acting as land-grabbers, including land belonging to educational institutions,” alleged BJP State president N. Ramchander Rao on Thursday. He said that the responsibility now lies with the people to protect such lands and university campuses.

Speaking to the media during his ongoing Warangal – Hanamkonda tour, Mr. Rao said that the government had earlier attempted to “take over 100 acres of land belonging to the University of Hyderabad” for industries and real estate. “Now, it is trying to acquire 50 acres of land from the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), valued at thousands of crores, for real estate purposes.”

The Government has failed to implement its promises and has pushed Telangana’s finances into a “dangerous zone.” The recent Assembly session, he said, failed to discuss issues of public importance, while Opposition BRS leader and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao “appeared briefly and then vanished.”

“Why did the Government gloss over crucial issues like land-grabbing, stoppage of Rythu Bandhu, non-payment of unemployment allowance, pending fee reimbursements, and Aarogyasri dues to hospitals?” he asked. “Both Congress and BRS wasted public money and time by using abusive language against each other and set a bad example for the next generation.”

Mr. Rao also criticised the previous BRS Government for “doing nothing” for Warangal or Hanamkonda. Despite not having a single MP from the region, the Central Government has spent ₹2,000 crore on its development, he said. Yet, the Chief Minister continues to “spread misinformation” about central projects to mislead the public.

The Centre had sanctioned funds for the super-speciality hospital at KMC, Sammakka Sarakka Tribal University in Mulugu, and Kazipet Coach Factory, among others. He questioned the delay in executing the ₹4,000-crore underground drainage system for Warangal and the shortage of faculty at Kakatiya University.

The former MLC urged people to elect the BJP in the upcoming municipal elections to ensure “genuine development,” noting that the Modi Government had allocated thousands of crores under various schemes.

In a separate press conference, BJP Legislature Party leader A. Maheshwar Reddy challenged Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to make his eight MPs resign and contest again on the issue of VB-GRAM-G, the revamped rural employment scheme. “It is the Congress that has the habit of changing names of schemes. The revised guidelines —with more working days and higher wages — will benefit rural people,” he said.

Mr. Reddy also defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being carried out by the Election Commission, saying it aims only to weed out bogus, deceased and migrant voters. He wondered why the Congress Party was resorting to “false propaganda” on the matter.