Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with senior party leader Sonia Gandhi during the second day of Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, in Hyderabad on September 17, 2023. Photo: X/@kharge via PTI
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), in a hard-hitting attack on the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that the promise of Golden Telangana lay shattered, betrayed by governments both in Delhi and Hyderabad, and the dream for which people fought for Telangana has remained unfulfilled.
In an appeal to the people of Telangana, the CWC said in a note released on September 17 that the resources of the new State, meant for its people, have instead been siphoned off by those in power. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his family have established family rule and are deaf to the voices of the people. Instead of the promised golden future, they have dragged the State into the past by ruling like the Nizams.
The CWC recalled the struggle of the people of Telangana that bore fruit with the creation of the state of Telangana, and the key role of the Indian National Congress during the formation of Telangana State. “UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and [then] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh resolutely heeded the voices of Telangana’s people, consulting every stakeholder and surmounting every political challenge.”
It said farmers who battled the risks of price and weather to make ends meet have been further let down by poor insurance schemes, which have forced them into debt. The Dharani portal is taking away land rights dating back to Indira Gandhi’s era, especially those of Adivasis, minorities, Dalits and OBCs. Small entrepreneurs shut shop due to lack of support in a market tilted towards a few large corporates.
The appeal further noted that irrigation projects like Kaleshwaram have become income sources for BRS-affiliated contractors, draining huge resources but providing little water. The Modi Government’s relentless privatisation of public sector companies is reducing opportunities for aspirational and hard-working youth. At the same time, the State Government’s privatisation of schools, educational institutes and hospitals is depriving people of affordable education and health.
The CWC meeting said the Congress party’s track record in Telangana over decades showed its commitment to an inclusive economy — through measures such as land rights, a strong public sector that accelerated the private sector, MGNREGA, and statehood.
Assuring people of similar inclusive rule, the CWC said the party will unveil six key guarantees to the people of Telangana, building on declarations in Warangal for farmers, Hyderabad for youth, and Khammam for the elderly. The CWC appealed to the people of Telangana to cast their votes for the Congress as it was time to reignite the dream of a Bangaaru Telangana, and deliver the future that the people of Telangana deserve.
