Terming Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy’s comments against him as irresponsible, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has asserted that the Congress Government is discharging its responsibilities with transparency and commitment to the federal spirit of the Constitution.
He said the Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sanctioned two phases of metro expansion in Bengaluru and one in Chennai since 2021, and Telangana Government had sought clearances to the Hyderabad Metro phase II.
The Chief Minister recalled his meeting with Mr. Kishan Reddy on December 12 requesting him to use his good offices to secure clearances for the Metro phase II and his meeting with Mr. Khattar when the latter came to Hyderabad on January 24.
He recalled how the Hyderabad Metro started by the Congress Government in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh accelerated the State’s development over the years, but the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had neglected the second phase of the project. The Congress government had therefore focussed on expanding the Metro Rail to different parts of the State Capital [Hyderabad] through five new corridors to ensure faster travel by the residents as well as those arriving from other districts and other parts of the country.
The government had also focussed its attention on cleansing Musi river which had deep connection with Hyderabad’s history and culture besides providing irrigation water to vast tracts of land in Nalgonda district. Another major project proposed by the Telangana Government was the Regional Ring Road (RRR) to ease traffic burden of the city and providing faster access to neighbouring States.
He reminded Mr. Kishan Reddy the latter’s statements in support of Sabarmati riverfront and Ganga rejuvenation projects and wondered why the Union Minister was spewing venom on the Musi rejuvenation project exposing his double standards. Mr. Kishan Reddy was equally negligent in securing permissions for other projects like RRR, Dry Port and greenfield highway connecting Telangana to sea ports in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and other projects.
The Chief Minister strongly rebutted Mr. Kishan Reddy’s comments that he (Mr. Revanth Reddy) was unaware of the rules and procedures involved in sanction of projects by the Central Government.
The State followed federal spirit in submitting representations pertaining to major projects and the State government announced its willingness to share the costs. “Being in the Union Cabinet from Telangana, it is your (Mr. Kishan Reddy’s) moral responsibility to secure necessary clearances and funds for the projects. There has been no response from the Centre to several representations submitted by the State while it gave clearances to similar projects in the neighbouring States,” the Chief Minister said.
“I am being criticised for lack of awareness, for questioning the silence of the Union Minister,” he said adding it was highly objectionable that Mr. Kishan Reddy’s criticism comes after the State had followed the prescribed procedures and submitted memorandums at different levels.
Senior leaders like S. Jaipal Reddy and G. Venkat Swamy, who represented the State in the Union Cabinet, left their mark by achieving Metro Rail, pension benefit for SCCL employees and other major developments. “What is your contribution to Telangana by being in the Union Cabinet?” he asked.
He said people would like to know how Mr. Kishan Reddy proposed to extend his cooperation for projects which were lifeline to Telangana. “But it is not appropriate on your part to indulge in criticism to cover your failures,” he said. The Chief Minister advised Mr. Kishan Reddy to at least now focus on securing clearances and funds for projects worth ₹1.63 lakh crore submitted to the Centre.
