Modi has the "disease" that causes "communal madness": KCR
Hyderabad, Nov 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP are afflicted with a "disease" that has caused "communal madness" and prompted them to block enhanced job quotas for Muslims in Telangana, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao said Friday, as poll-time rhetoric got shriller and nastier.
Rao, the caretaker chief minister, slammed the Centre for keeping on hold a decision on raising reservations for Muslims and Scheduled Tribes from 4 to 12 per cent and 6 to 10 per cent in state government jobs and educational institutions despite the state assembly passing a resolution.
"Narendra Modi and the BJP have a disease...In everything they see, they see Hindu-Muslim (divide). They don't see anything else and so they did not do it (raise the quotas)...they have kept it pending," he told an election rally at Narsampet.
Addressing another election meeting in Mahabubabad, the TRS president repeated his charge and accused the Centre of "religious madness".
"Narendra Modi government has a disease. That is minorities (versus) Hindus....they are in that state of 'mataparamaina pichi' (communal madness)). It is because of this they blocked reservations for STs and Muslims," he said.
Rao said he will ensure that the demand for raising the quotas was accepted if people elected TRS candidates from all the 17 Lok Sabha seats of Telangana next year.
"Not only the Assembly elections...with kindness, help us win all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. Only if we win can we make Delhi bend its neck. We will get our ST reservation, we will get our Muslim reservation," he said.
The TRS leader claimed both the BJP and the Congress wanted to exercise complete control over the states.
"It doesn't matter which of the two parties forms the government at the Centre. Their attitude is the same. Both Congress and the BJP want to concentrate all powers over states into their hands. This is their culture," he said.
Rao once again batted for a non-Congress, non-BJP "federal front" government at the Centre to end that culture.
The TRS chief, who has been assailing the Congress-led opposition coalition that includes Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, asked people at his Narsampet rally whether Telangana needed Naidu. He has been accusing Naidu of stalling the development of Telangana when it was part of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
He hit out at the Congress for merging the Telangana region with Andhra against the wishes of the people of Telangana. He also accused the Congress government of suppressing the agitation for a separate Telangana in 1969.
Rao said Congress leaders were silent when "injustice" was being done to Telangana region in undivided Andhra Pradesh and were trying to bring Naidu back to Telangana now.
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Rally against "vote chori" to protect every citizen's right, says D K Shivakumar
New Delhi/ Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar asserted that the Congress party's rally against alleged 'vote chori' (vote theft) in New Delhi is to protect every citizen's right to vote.
Accusing BJP government at the Centre of restricting vehicles with Congress workers from entering Delhi to participate in the party's mega rally, Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress chief, said that about 3,500-4,000 party leaders and workers have come from the state to participate in the rally.
Congress is holding a mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on Sunday, against the alleged "vote chori" (vote theft).
"We (state Congress) have made accommodation for 1,500 people (party workers and leaders), more than 2,000 people have made their own arrangements. They have come by flight and train. About 3,500-4,000 people have come. About 1.42 crore signatures have been gathered from the state (as part of its signature campaign)," Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, he said, there is a lot of enthusiasm among party workers and leaders, and they are committed to saving the Congress party in the state and the country, and protecting the citizens' right to vote.
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"As per the information that I have received this morning, the BJP and the central government are stopping vehicles (with Congress workers) from coming to Delhi, they are apparently not allowing vehicles to enter the city. I don't know why they are doing this. I don't know why the BJP and the central government are so worried. But no one can stop our voice," he added.
Further stating that Congress is fighting on behalf of the people of the country to protect their right to vote, the Deputy CM said, there is no politics in it. He said, all the leaders will be leaving for the protest venue from the Congress office in Delhi.
Reacting to a question on Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly terming Congress party's rally as an "act of frustration" due to electoral losses, and similar criticism from other BJP leaders, he said, he doesn't want to react to anyone from the saffron party.
"Let them say anything for their enjoyment. We, the Congressmen, won't think about electoral victories and losses. We think about the sacrifice made by our elders during the freedom struggle, to give democracy and a constitution to the country. Sonia Gandhi sacrificed power (PM post) and gave it to an economist like Manmohan Singh. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for this country," he said.
Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi went to jail for the sake of this country, he further pointed out, adding that, "A hundred years ago, Gandhi took over the leadership of the freedom struggle; today in these difficult times, Mallikarjun Kharge has taken the responsibility as the Congress President."
Shivakumar, responding to a question, said, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will also be attending the rally. "Both of us will go together (to the venue) from the Indira Gandhi Bhavan (in Delhi)."
He, however, did not wish to comment on any meeting with the Congress high command, including Soina Gandhi, on the issue of leadership change in Karnataka. Meanwhile, slogans calling Shivakumar the "next CM" were raised by his supporters as the Deputy CM left the Karnataka Bhavan.
