HYDERABAD: Exuding confidence that the TRS would win the Huzurabad Assembly seat, the ruling party’s working president KT Rama Rao said that former Minister Eatala Rajender would not get any sympathy in the bypoll. In an informal chat with reporters at Telangana Bhavan on Wednesday, Rama Rao said that Rajender made a mistake by criticising the Cabinet decisions even though he continued to be in the Cabinet. Pointing out that Rajender never expressed any dissent during the Cabinet meetings, Rama Rao said its time for the former Minister to introspect.
While refusing to consider Rajender as a force in the ensuing bypoll, Rama Rao said that the Huzurabad election would be fought among political parties and not among candidates. Pooh-poohing Rajender’s “self-respect” slogan, he said: “It was not self-respect. It was self-deception. Rajender should tell the people what injustice was done to him in the TRS.” “If he had seen a rift developing between himself and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao five years ago, why did he continue in the Cabinet all these years,” Rama Rao wondered. Stating that TRS helped Rajender grow politically and gave him important posts, Rama Rao claimed that he tried to keep Rajender in the party till the last minute.
“But I could not succeed in my efforts as Rajender himself declared that he would not meet anyone in the party,” he explained. It may be recalled that Eatala Rajender, who was sacked from the Cabinet, joined BJP and he is likely to contest on the saffron party’s ticket in the Huzurabad bypoll. While stating that the government took action against the Rajender’s assigned lands based on the available evidences, he said that TRS’s base was strong in Huzurabad even before Rajender joined the party.
“The TRS government developed Huzurabad in the last seven years. Rajender cannot credit the TRS developmental activities into the account of BJP,” he said. Rama Rao also wanted BJP State president Bandi Sanjay to explain why he was embarking on a padayatra.
“The Central government did nothing for Telangana in the last seven years. The Centre released funds to all states, except Telangana, under Jala Jeevan Mission.” Speaking about river water disputes with Andhra Pradesh, Rama Rao said that justice would prevail. On YS Sharmila’s party, he sarcastically quipped that some do “vratams” for some weeks. Earlier, Rama Rao held a meeting with party general secretaries and discussed several issues, including the current political situation, the forthcoming Huzurabad bypoll and party membership drive.
