Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Hyderabad for a roadshow for the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections on Sunday, said that he has never called farmers’ protest politically motivated.
“I never called the farmers’ protest politically motivated, neither I am calling it now,” Shah said while speaking in a press briefing in Hyderabad. Shah also emphasised that the BJP is going to “free” Hyderabad from the “Nawab, Nizam culture” and create a “mini-India” there. “We’re going to free Hyderabad from the Nawab, Nizam culture and create a mini-India here. We want to build Hyderabad into a modern city, free from the shackles of Nizam culture,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed a press conference at the BJP state headquarters in Hyderabad after a huge rally ahead of the city’s municipal polls. Shah attacked the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and AIMIM, and said that only BJP has the track record and competence to ensure that Hyderabad transforms into a global IT hub.
The Union Home Minister was campaigning on the penultimate day of the GHMC elections which is scheduled for 1 December. He said that the BJP is not contesting this election to increase the party’s vote share or seat share, but with the goal of winning the mayor’s position in GHMC.
Shah accused TRS of misgovernance and failing to deliver on the 100-day plan and the promises made in the 2016 manifesto like double bedroom homes for the poor, drinking water connections, dump yards, new hospitals, cleaning of the Hussain Sagar and development of the Musi River waterfront.
He questioned what the TRS had been doing for the last five years without clearing drains, removing silt and demolishing encroachments. He pointedly asked Telangana CM K. Chandrashekhar Rao why he has not implemented the Ayushman Bharat scheme and outlined the host of fund disbursements made to Hyderabad, including the sum of over Rs 500 crore given in support recently.
Shah also challenged KCR to come clean on the alliance with MIM. He asked why the CM is scared of explicitly accepting his political alliance with MIM and hiding the fact that they have been working together since 2014. He further charged TRS with appeasing the MIM and allowing MIM to illegally encroach all waterfronts and lakes leading to an unprecedented deluge.
The BJP’s goal is to transform GHMC from a dynasty to democracy, from corruption to good governance, from secrecy to transparency, said Shah. He stated that Hyderabad should transform into a modern global city and not be stuck in the times of Nawabs and Nizams.
The Union Home Minister also listed the initiatives which the central government has for Hyderabad, especially with regard to power generation, educational and research institutions, GHMC credit rating, Covid-19 support, a street vendor loan scheme, passport modernisation for quick disbursals and a metro extension project.
He thanked the people gathered for the affection and enthusiasm they showed and appealed to the voters of GHMC to come out in large numbers on election day and vote for the BJP.