New Delhi, April 30 -- The Congress on Tuesday claimed that the Delhi Police's summons to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is yet another "nail in the coffin of free and fair elections", and asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi is afraid that the CM will "torpedo" his party's prospects. Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh's remarks came a day after the Delhi Police summoned Reddy on May 1 for questioning in a case of a doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's speech circulating on social media. Police in some BJP-ruled states also swung into action making the first arrest in Assam in connection with the case.
Ahead of the prime minister's rallies in Telangana, Ramesh said on X, "Why does the PM fear Chief Minister Revanth Reddy? Where are the Central funds that had been promised to Telangana? Will the BJP ever establish the National Turmeric Board in Nizamabad?" Elaborating on what he said were "jumla details", Ramesh said the Delhi Police's summons to Reddy is yet another "nail in the coffin of free and fair elections". "The moment Congress leaders make posts critical of the BJP, the Prime Minister advances the police to knock at their doors -- meanwhile, the Delhi Police is quiet while the BJP creates and circulates fake videos of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh," he said.
"This police action is not just a double standard but also an affront to Telangana's people. After their lacklustre performance in the first two phases, the BJP has become increasingly desperate. Is the PM afraid that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy will torpedo his party's prospects in a free and fair election?" Ramesh said. He claimed that the PM has made a habit of neglecting states that reject him at assembly polls. "His (Modi's) vindictiveness has been on full display in Telangana where the Centre has now racked up a laundry list of funds that were promised but have still not been released to the state. The Centre has not released Rs 4,000 crore of GST compensation, Rs 24,205 crore recommended by NITI Aayog, or the Rs 1,800 crore grant for the development of backward districts," he said. "For every rupee of tax that Telangana pays to the Centre, the state only receives 43 paise in return. Even the Interim Budget allocations to Telangana earlier this year were found to be sorely lacking. Sadly, given the BJP's dismal track record in opposition-ruled states, the step-motherly treatment being dished out to Telangana is hardly a surprise," Ramesh said.
What happened to the PM's favourite slogan -- 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', he asked. "How much longer do the people have to suffer while Mr. Modi nurses his fragile ego after his party's washout in the Assembly Elections?" Ramesh said. The Congress leader further said that the National Turmeric Board that the PM had promised to establish in Nizamabad is nowhere to be seen. "This has been a long-standing demand of turmeric farmers in Telangana, who supply at least 30% of overall turmeric exports from India. The state boasts nearly 50,000 acres under turmeric cultivation, large swathes of which are found in Nizamabad district," Ramesh pointed out. The price of turmeric is prone to fluctuation and the National Turmeric Board cannot only help farmers decide how much to grow, but also aid them in marketing their produce, he said.
"As early as 2019, the BJP candidate from Nizamabad Lok Sabha (seat) had promised to set up the Turmeric Board. For four years the promise was on the backburner. Just before the Assembly Elections in December 2023, in a transparent move to redeem some of his lost goodwill, the PM announced the establishment of the Turmeric Board," Ramesh said. At the end of the PM's tenure, however, very little appears to have been done on the ground with no clear budget proposal and no location identified for the Board, he claimed. "Does the BJP ever plan to keep its promises, or will turmeric farmers also have to face the PM's vindictiveness?" Ramesh said and asked the prime minister to break his "silence" on these issues.
Earlier, Ramesh had posed several questions to the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Marathwada region of Maharashtra. "Why has the PM ignored the plight of Marathwada's farmers? What is the PM's vision to address water scarcity in Marathwada? Why has the export ban only been lifted on Gujarat's white onions?" Ramesh said in a post on X. Ramesh said that in the first half of 2023, the Marathwada region accounted for the highest number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra."As many as 685 farmers took their own lives in Marathwada and the State Agriculture Minister's home district, Beed, reported the highest number of deaths at 186. Now, after suffering from drought conditions for the last four months, the Marathwada region has been hit by unseasonal rains and hailstorms, causing severe crop losses, The ruling BJP government has not declared this event a national disaster or announced any relief measures," Ramesh said. "What are PM Modi and the BJP doing to protect Marathwada's farmers from drought and natural disasters? What is their vision to prevent farmer suicides?" he added.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.