Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka strongly countered MLAs from both the Bharath Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the Assembly floor on Wednesday on the second day of the Budget session, accusing them of neglecting the interests of Telangana State for political gains.
In response to BRS MLA K.T. Rama Rao’s claims that Congress has an understanding with the BJP, Mr. Vikramarka highlighted that on the contrary, the BRS had supported several bills introduced by the Modi government. He said that the BRS fears repercussions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi if they voice strong opposition. Mr. Vikramarka also noted that the BRS did not support former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar when she was the joint Opposition presidential candidate. “It seems that political and personal interests are more important to these leaders than the larger interests of the State,” he stated.
Mr. Vikramarka refuted former minister K.T. Rama Rao’s remarks about the State’s response to the Centre’s allocation of coal mining to private companies, neglecting Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). He reminded the Assembly that the BRS had supported the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR) in Parliament. The Deputy Chief Minister also criticised the BRS for not opposing the Central government’s decision to merge seven mandals of the erstwhile Khammam district into Andhra Pradesh through a special ordinance. He denounced Mr. K.T. Rama Rao’s claims about the BRS government’s achievements with the Sita Rama project, he noted that the BRS government had increased the cost to ₹20,000 crore and spent ₹8,000 crore without providing water to a single acre. Mr. Vikramarka highlighted that the Congress had planned to connect the Sita Rama Lift Irrigation project to the Vaira project through the NSP canal for just ₹70 crore, aiming to irrigate lakhs of acres.
Moreover, Mr. Vikramarka censured BJPLP leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy for trivialising serious discussions about the injustices faced by Telangana from the BJP-led NDA government.
