Telangana's KTR claps back at Rahul Gandhi's corruption charges: 'He's a reader, not a leader'
Telangana is set to witness a triangular contest between the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi, the Congress, and the BJP in the upcoming assembly election.
Telangana minister KT Rama Rao on Friday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his corruption charges against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), saying he reads the script of local leaders.
“I don't consider him a leader but a reader. He starts reading out scripts and doesn't pay attention to what has been written,” Rao, the son of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, told reporters.
“Rahul Gandhi says that corruption has increased in Telangana. His PCC chief (Revanth Reddy) is more dangerous than Dawood Ibrahim and Charles Sobhraj. Rahul Gandhi is innocent, so he doesn't know,” he added.
Rahul Gandhi has been aggressively campaigning in poll-bound Telangana with yatras and public rallies, frequently targeting BRS over alleged corruption and calling it a ‘B’ team of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing a gathering during his 'Vijayabheri Yatra' in the region, Gandhi on Thursday pointed out that the BRS lends its support to the BJP in the Lok Sabha.
"The BRS, BJP and AIMIM help each other. Voting for BJP and AIMIM means voting for BRS. There are 24 cases against me. My Lok Sabha membership was cancelled, my house was taken away because I stood in front of BJP. On the other hand, KCR has not been questioned by ED, CBI or IT. BRS supports BJP in Lok Sabha. Be it GST or Farmers' Bill," the former Congress president said.
Noting that crucial state departments are under the control of KCR's family, the Congress leader highlighted that this election represents a clash between "Dorala" (feudal lords) Telangana and "Prajala" (people's) Telangana.
"Now, this election has become a fight between Dorala Telangana and Prajala Telangana. KCR's family has taken control of important departments related to land, sand, and liquor," he said.
KTR earlier said that the BRS is not the BJP's B team, but the Congress is the C team of the country. "C team means chor (thief) team," the BRS working president said while addressing a gathering at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad.