CM KCR Assembly Speech on March 7, 2020 ..... Replying to Motion of Thanks to Governor Address

CM KCR Assembly Speech on March 7, 2020

Replying to Motion of Thanks to Governor Address

Historic speech

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday has virtually ripped apart the Congress members allegations on state programmes, launched a broadside attack  against the NDA government over the CAA-NPR-NRC imbroglio, dismissed fears about coronavirus posing a threat to the State and spoke at length about the rapid strides made by Telangana on all fronts in the past six years.

In his historic 140-minute reply to the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address in the State Assembly, the Chief Minister, who laced his speech with wit and humour, trained his guns on the BJP government at the Centre for taking up the contentious CAA-NPR-NRC issue instead of focusing more on important issues in the wake of the economic slowdown that had impacted the entire country.

On CAA, NPR

Assuring the House that the government would take up discussion and then pass a resolution opposing the implementation of the CAA and NPR, he said every political party has a clear stand on the issue as a Constitutional right. "Let us pass the resolution on CAA and NPR to express the views of the people of the State to the Centre and wait for its final decision on the issue," he said, and pointed out that even he was among the lakhs of Indians who were not in possession of birth certificates.  He admitted that he had no birth certificate despite the fact he was born into a household, which had 380 acres of land and a huge building.

"I was born in a remote village in my ancestral house as there were no hospitals then in the vicinity those days. All we had is a Pundit who will register our name under "Janma Namam" and that becomes our birth certificate.   Now if the authorities ask me for my father's birth certificate from where do I get," the Chief Minister said. Calling for a detailed discussion on the controversial CAA-NPR-NRC issue the chief minister said that his party has strong beliefs in certain issues and it will not hesitate in saying it loud.

            "If all the educated people are finding it difficult to bring in old certificates what about the poor and the Dalits. Do we need this turmoil now while the economy is in decline?" he asked. He said that the country has already lost its face in the comity of the nations for its selective citizenship policy and Telangana government as an integral part of the country will make its opinion loud and clear after discussion in the Assembly.

“If they ask me to produce my father’s certificates now, where will I get them from?” the CM asked. Moreover, the CM said excluding a community from the Act itself is against the Constitution and national and social fabric of the nation. He said it was a very important issue but not a trivial one. This was not an issue on how powerful are you or how powerful (Thu Kittha …. My Kittha). Our nation’s future, our country’s stature at the international level, future developments, and implications that our future generation bear, these are all should be discussed.

The CM said that, the CAA NPR issue was boiling the country and there were about 40 t0 50 deaths in the nation’s capital. He wanted everyone in the House to debate on the issue. He wanted MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi and BJP member Raj Singh to express their views on the matter and requested the Speaker to allot them enough time. He also assured the House that a half-day discussion on the issue would be debated in the House after which a resolution would be passed accordingly. “We will send the resolution to the Centre, whether they will take an action or not upto them.” The CM said each political party has clear policy on their stand on CAA as per the Constitutional right. He welcomed all political parties to participate in the discussion, but urged them to maintain restraint inside as well as outside the Legislative Assembly to maintain peace and harmony in the State.

CM demands stern action against members misleading the House with lies

Continuing his outburst against the Congress, after the House suspended all the six Congress members for a day when they tried to disrupt his speech, the Chief Minister, while castigating the opposition members for raising baseless allegations without being in a position to prove them, also sought the expulsion of Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy. The Munugode Congress legislator made the cardinal mistake of alleging that none of the villages in his constituency had received Mission Bhagiratha water. This after he put his signature to a report that said all the 334 habitations in his constituency were beneficiaries of the flagship programme.

Upset over the blatant lies presented by the Munugode MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy on the state's flagship programme Mission Bhagiratha, the CM had sought stern action including possible expulsion of the Congress MLA who has repeatedly tried to obstruct the CM’s reply despite of several requests by the Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy.

            "The MLA who stands suspended now for a day, in his signed report to the government, has agreed that tap water has reached to every household in all the 334 habitations under his Assembly segment. The same MLA has lied to the House that water has not reached to any households today," the Chief Minister said. He wanted the Speaker to seek report from the concerned minister and protect the rights of the government.

            "The house must bring sweeping rules to stop MLAs from making such irresponsible remarks. If someone makes an allegation they must prove or perish," the Chief Minister said, mooting an Act to initiate action on such baseless allegations

            The Chief Minister said that Telangana is probably the only state that has sought reports from all the 12751 Gram Panchayats about the completion of project like Mission Bhagiratha. "Out of these 8600 Gram Panchayats have replied with copies of resolutions saying that water has been supplied to every house hold of the Panchayat. The villages under Munugod MLA were among those which sent confirmation reports" the Chief Minister said offering the details of the reports for circulation among members of the house.

The CM reminded that in the last Assembly polls, the entire TRS campaign centred on Mission Bhagiratha. If there is a failure of the programme at the ground level, people would not have given a decisive mandate to the party. He also wanted to know whether any government in the past ever sought people’s feedback on its programme?

            On the allegations that the government has retained the old pipeline laid by the Congress government and did nothing, the CM made it clear that out of the 37,000 over head tanks built only 19,000 old pipelines retained in certain places to cut down costs.

"Similarly, the MLA has lied to the house that construction of his MLA camp office was not completed. In fact, the construction is over and he sought additional Rs 90 lakhs for additional work" the Chief minister said clearing air on yet another allegation. The CM said the member was telling blatant lies and misled the House. “The opposition can’t misuse the freedom that the House gives them to raise issues. When you raise an allegation, you should prove it or be prepared to perish,” he said, adding: “Kab thak uloo banathe? (How long will you fool people).”

On Parliamentary democracy, elections, victory and defeat

The CM dwelled at length on the parliamentary democracy, elections, victory and defeats. “In a parliamentary democracy and politics, victory and defeat are common. Parties come to power or lose it. Parties can win or lose elections. It is a natural way. Those who thought they would remain power forever did not remain in power; we have seen it in the State and at the centre. Leaders like Indira Gandhi lost to a person like Raj Narain. NT Rama Rao who launched his own regional political party and came to power with an outstanding victory lost in Kaluwakurty Assembly seat” said CM.

“In our nation’s politics, especially in parliamentary democracy there is need for patience and perseverance.  Cent percent people will not be defeated in the elections. I have stood for elections 10 to 12 times. But in every election, parties may lose or the leaders but not the people. People cent percent elect those they wanted to elect” said CM.

The sordid state of Congress party

Taking a swipe at the Congress, the CM said the Congress was in state of despair. Ha said that, “They have no clue why they are losing elections. Things were not happening in Congress’s favour at the national level. In the just concluded Delhi polls, the Congress which was in power there for a long time could get only 4 per cent of votes not even a single seat. Unfortunately, they (the Congress leaders) were not reading the ground realities. In a parliamentary democracy to be with the people was a great opportunity. It depends on people whom they chose to be in power. If you didn’t get a chance, be with the people”.

The double standards of Congress

“The Congress leaders have stooped down to any level to make baseless allegations. A few moments ago, they are saying about Kidnap. Why will we kidnap anyone? Where is the necessity? Even if some one begs we will not do it. You know it Sir, you were also working in the Cooperative Societies. 94 per cent of Single window Chairmen are from TRS. I also sometimes surprised. During party meetings I said such a massive victory may cast an evil eye on the party. When we won with 88 seats, the Congress leaders lost their balance. The Congress leaders’ calculations are wrong. They have no calculation. Their thought process is wrong. Their fate is that even today they have no clue why people are voting for us. They are not able to do self-introspection. Where is the mistake, they are not able to understand? I am sorry; it is a sordid situation for the Congress”.

“You know what the Congress leaders used to sing in 2014. Now CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka used to give statements every three days that our government would fall. For every week there were four such statements. They have no such feelings that the state was formed and it should march forward. Come what may they want the political power. This is their story. Anyway, it did not happen. Whatever to happen had happened”.

“For the first two months after we won the last elections, they started blaming us with tampering the EVMs. We have no role to play; we have neither the Central government nor the Election Commission with us. We don’t know from where the EVMs machines come from. For two months they were singling the tune of EVM’s tampering.   When ZP elections are held by Ballot papers, they lost heavily. We won 32 out of 32 Zilla Parishads. In the last Assembly session in your presence I have asked them what they have to say on we winning 32 out of 32 ZPs with ballot paper? They evaded the reply”.

“Even in Single window elections, I am surprised. There were unanimous elections at several places including in your (Speaker) own Constituency. The TRS got 2/3 rds majority. It is all oneside victory. People voted for TRS so that it should not get defeated at all. All one-sided election. Then why will we kidnap and for what? The entire media reported. Whether it is DCCB, TESCO, Markfed, even media reports stated that TRS victory was only a formality. The Congress is losing continuously and alleged that we are kidnapping. Why will we kidnap?”

“These days People are keenly watching the political parties whether good is done or bad is happening. They are also giving instant verdicts. People are assessing how committed we are. Had we committed any mistake we would not have come to this level? Yes, today TRS is inscrutable political force. They have colluded. The Congress had colluded with the BJP in the local body elections and had underhand dealings. In divisions like Manikonda in the city, Maktal in Palamuru, the BJP and Congress have colluded. The Congress had indulged in this Dandha (Business). We went to Courts got the elections. It is they who went to the court to stop elections. They don’t want elections”.

The litigant Congress

“The Congress leaders don’t want us to do anything and they filed cases.  The Congress leaders are filing cases in courts on several issues on a regular basis.  Rajagopal Reddy’s brother wrote letters to the financial institutions not to fund projects in the State. He also tabled questions in the Parliament. Their (Congress) party leader was admonished by the High Court saying he was filing politically motivated petitions. He filed cases before the Single Bench, Division bench of the High Court.  The court admonished him repeatedly. But again, he went to the Supreme Court and the case is pending there now. They are talking about Dindi now, while they filed cases against Palamuru project, which provides water to Dindi. On one side TRS leaders like Marri Janardhan Reddy, Niranjan Reddy, and Srinivas Goud have convinced the farmers and asking for the projects in Palamuru, on the other hand the Congress leaders are filing cases. The Congress filed cases against the projects and is asking why these projects are not being completed like the Kaleswaram?”

On Mission Bhagiratha

“Mission Bhagiratha is a wonderful project. Entire country is wonderstruck by it and 11 CMs have asked me to depute our engineers to implement such a project in their states. I said I would help and assist them. The Centre also took our scheme and said they would provide water to everyone by 2024. Whether they give it or not is another issue”.

“That scheme is my brainchild; my life and I am architect and designer of the scheme. When I was Siddipet Legislator I implemented a similar scheme for getting water from Lower Maneru. I planned how the scheme can be extended to the entire state. The scheme will never fail. In Nalgonda district, which was destroyed during their rule, we put the Plaque there. When these leaders were in collision with the then Chief Minister and getting contracts, I visited Marri Gudem and Sivannagudem and stayed there overnight. We wrote songs and made cassettes. I conducted midnight meetings when these leaders were happy with their contracts. We are not saying it, central Water resource Ministry and doctors deputed by them said Nalgonda district is fluorosis free due to Mission Bhagiratha project. In the presence of people, the representative drank water there and threw the water in his bottle saying the water available in Nalgonda is much better than the bottled water. I am the architect of the scheme. Irrigation Minister Dayakar Rao and I insisted that public satisfaction is final. We have asked for resolutions from 12, 751 villages and wanted MLAs to sign on the statement that water is being supplied in every village in their Constituency”.

The trials and tribulations of the Telangana Statehood movement

            “In the beginning of the Telangana statehood movement, nobody was there to support it. These people were tearing their shirts and colluding with Congress leaders under the united AP rule. There were comments like Telangana movement is over and there is no Telangana. People often asked who would get the Telangana State. In the initial stags, I had 20, 30, 40 meetings with the people and then they would ask where will Telangana state emerge. Even when I spoke to my fellow Legislators they were in despair and they would say forces opposing it would not make it happen”.

“During the Monsoon season, it was categorically said that Delta region will get the fertilisers first and Telangana region will not be given. A Speaker in the then legislative Assembly declared that Telangana word should not be uttered in the House. We have seen such evil situation. The situation was such that even if Telangana word was banned in the house nobody would do anything. In such a situation a lot of brainstorming took place”.

“The greatest calamity to Telangana was the power tariff hike. I responded and wrote a letter to then CM and later lead the movement. We have struggled a lot be it raising the Telangana society or taking the issue to Delhi, getting letters of support from 38 political parties in the country. Now in the retrospect, if one recalled the process, it is like a cinema reel. Many ministers who are here now like Koppula Eswar, Niranjan Reddy, and Srinivas Goud more than half of those present here, were jailed. We have seen many struggles, jails, lathis, bullets, cheatings and vengeance, insults and mockery. With a vengeance they tried to split the TRS. But some how, we have achieved our state. But any step backward, any moment of despair, then, there would not be any state, or Assembly or this discussion now. Even entire nation knows about it”.

“Honourable Former President Pranab Mukherjee said this and wrote clearly in his memoirs Coalition Times. He told me at the time when he was giving ascent to the state’s bifurcation that a Professor in Israel used to ask the British that he wanted Israel State each time he met the British. He complimented me for doing my job for 14 years in Delhi.  “Pranab Mukherjee said no leader who led such a movement every saw it’s victory during his lifetime. Pranab Mukherjee blessed me by saying that I was lucky that I could achieve the result and witness it too. And the State formed and journey started”.

On the post-Bifurcation scenario

“That was a piquant situation. The Congress was in power in Delhi and here. When the Bifurcation Act passed, I told them to have elections in two separate States. Nobody listen to it and the President’s rule was imposed. The Bifurcation Bill was not implemented fully though it was passed and the notification was issued. But the appointed day was fixed as June 2. 2014. Then elections took place, the Congress lost its address all over the country and BJP came to power. Under the pretext of non implementation, the BJP which came to power then which in also power now, have snatched away 7 Mandals from us. We had to bear with this onslaught too. Sileru Power Plant and seven mandals were snatched away from us.  The Telangana bore such onslaughts too. People elected our party and I was elected as the Legislature party leader. I was designated Chief Minister but yet I gave call for dharna on the issues.  Amidst several obstacles and opposition, we achieved Telangana State on June 2, 2014. That is how the journey had begun. Despite all this, the then CM in AP created several problems, cases and obstacles. Cases were filed at every drop of a hat. The then AP government had not given Telangana State the power supply, which was due. They have created all these problems only to show before the country that the Telangana state formation was a failed experiment. This was their conspiracy and idea. With people’s support, hard work by the party leaders and God’s blessings, from an uncertain future we have come up to this level”.

On TRS winning spree

“In a democracy there are two corner stones. One is third party survey and other important corner stone is people’s verdict, the judgement given by people in an election. In 2014, people gave 63 seats to the TRS. Later the TRS won two byelections in Narayankhed and Palair. But essentially the TRS won 63. But in Dec 2018, elections, people gave us 88 seats. People gave 25 seats more than the last election and asked us to govern. If we have committed any wrong doings, we were afraid of losing the election and not confidant that we will win they why will we went for the dissolution of the Assembly?”

On Smaller districts

“The Congress maintained that there should not be 33 districts. They asked where is the need? They have contradictions among themselves. The women member who wanted Mulugu district was sitting next to him. They went on dharna demanding Gadwal district. When we said Wanaparthy district is sufficient they said if Gadwal not made the district they would jump into Jurala project. There are internal differences among the Congress leaders. Whether it is on formation of districts like Gadwal, Mulugu or Bhoopalpally. There is a reason to form Mulugu as the district. I remember I spoke to the Chattisgarh Chief Secretary. He asked me to go ahead with the decision. He said they also did the same. Maharashtra also said the same. Heavens won’t fall down if a region is made district, the Congress have no such basic intelligence even. Even when I asked some Chief Minister in the past, he would say no to district formation. In the entire country, districts were not reorganized only in two states, West Bengal and erstwhile AP. The present AP CM told me that he is in favour of having 25 districts after seeing the successful implementation in Telangana State. This way when the whole country is for creation of new districts, the Congress opposed it”.

On Metro Rail to Old City

In what should bring cheer to the people living in Old City, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Saturday assured them that the Metro rail would soon be brought to their doorsteps. "I have already directed the implementing construction company L&T to take up and complete the project on a war-footing," he said.
            "I have also directed the Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development K T Rama Rao to take the lead besides the local legislators to provide leadership to facilitate Metro rail operations to begin at the earliest," the Chief Minister said.

CM K Chandrashekhar Rao said the government has cleared the doubts expressed by the people of the old city with the help of all the MIM MLAs and also Leader of the Opposition Akbaruddin Owaisi and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

ON GST

While agreeing that Owaisi's statement over delay in release of GST funds which had its impact on the State government's schemes, The CM said the Centre released about Rs 1,000 crore after TRS MPs fought in the Parliament for GST dues. He said the Centre is yet to release GST dues amounting to crores of rupees.

On the State’s economic situation

Referring to the State’s progress, the Chief Minister said that thanks to the various irrigation projects and 24x7 power supply, agriculture yield in the State had taken a quantum leap since 2014, industrial growth was zooming north and people were more than happy with the implementation of scores of welfare schemes that was reflected in the results of election after election.

He said the silver lining was that Telangana was doing quite well on all fronts despite the impact of the economic slowdown on the State. He said that the government was committed to keep its promise of making the farmer a king.