Image Credits - The Hindu
Union Home Minister Amit Shah today launched a scathing attack on the Congress party during a public meeting in the Nagarkurnool district of Telangana. He accused the opposition party of utilizing Telangana as an ‘ATM’ under the leadership of state Congress chief Revanth Reddy.
Addressing a crowd of supporters, Shah alleged, “Revanth Reddy has made Telangana an ATM for the Congress party.” He went on to question whether development funds sent by the Central government under PM Modi have actually reached the villages of Telangana.
“PM Modi has sent crores of rupees for the development of Telangana. Have your villages received anything?” Shah asked the gathered crowd, implying a lack of infrastructure development in the state.
The Home Minister’s comments were seen as an effort to corner the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) as well as the Congress on allegations of corruption and lack of governance in the state ahead of next year’s assembly elections.
The BJP has been attempting to spread its influence in the southern state, which has been ruled by the TRS since its formation in 2014 when it broke away from the united Andhra Pradesh.
Both national parties are attempting to discredit each other and put the TRS on the defensive ahead of the crucial state polls using rhetoric around corruption allegations.
How these campaigns play out and influence voters in the run-up to the Telangana elections remains to be seen.