Telangana assembly not dissolved for political gains, Congress number 1 villain: K Chandrashekar Rao

Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) with Governor ESL Narasimhan (Image: PTI)

Telangana’s caretaker Chief Minister and Telugu Rashtra Samiti (TRS) President Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar has said the state assembly was not dissolved for political gains, but is a sacrifice made by the party.

Speaking to the press after dissolving the assembly, Rao said, “The cycle of development and economic progress should not be stalled. It should go on. I say, we have not dissolved the government for political gains. It is a sacrifice we have made.”

While Rao said the decision to dissolve the assembly was not politically motivated, he said the party was confident that the election notification would be issued in October while the polls will happen in November.

The caretaker CM said these cannot be considered as early polls “as election atmosphere has already gripped the country” because of pending elections in four states — Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

“I salute my Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), ministers and Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) for cooperating and coordinating with me,” he said.

Rao said the list of 105 TRS candidates will be declared on September 6 while the remaining 14 candidates will be finalised within a week.

When asked about the possibility of the TRS allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the assembly polls, Rao said, "TRS is a 100 percent secular party. How can we join hands with the BJP?"

Rao also said TRS would contest the election alone but said there was "no doubt" the party is "friends with AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen)".

Development, schemes highlighted

Rao claimed the Telangana government had maintained perfect law and order situation and that the crime rate had come down.

“In the five months of this financial year, no state in the country has been able to clock a 21.96 percent growth in state-owned revenue,” he said.

“Such growth has been possible only due to policies which were implemented with persistent and disciplined efforts. The state government’s achievements have fetched international acclaim,” he added.

KCR trains guns at Congress

Hitting out at the largest opposition party — Congress — Rao said the Congress rule was marked by corruption, officials going to jails and projects kept pending infinitely.

Taking a jibe at Congress, Rao claimed that his government had “done way more for the state in the past four-and-half years than the Congress in the past 50 years”.

Taking a jibe at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Rao said Gandhi had "inherited the legacy of the Congress Delhi sultanate. He is the legal heir of Congress empire of Delhi. That is the reason I appeal to the people, let us not become slaves to Congress, slaves to Delhi."

"Congress party is the number one villain of Telangana," Rao said. "Biggest enemy of the state is the Congress party," he said.

"I am asking Congress leaders to come to the ground and fight in the elections. The public will give the reply," he added.

The Election Commission (EC) is yet to take a call when the election would be held.

Also read: Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao dissolves assembly, calls for early polls

On September 6, Rao announced dissolution of the state assembly. The state cabinet passed a resolution seeking dissolution of the state assembly. The recommendation was accepted by Governor ESL Narasimhan.

In the meeting that lasted just over 20 minutes, Governor Narasimhan asked Rao and the Council of Ministers to continue as a caretaker government.

India’s newest state had held its first assembly poll simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in April-May 2014. The term of the current assembly was supposed to end in May 2019.

The dissolution would now allow the state government to seek early assembly polls, possibly at the end of this year.