Hyderabad

A political row broke out between the ruling Congress and the BJP in Telangana, after BJP State president N. Ramchander Rao wrote to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy seeking an appointment with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to discuss the implementation of the Congress party’s six guarantees.

Mr. Ramchander Rao’s letter came in response to a recent communication by the Chief Minister to Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, requesting him to facilitate meetings with Union ministers to secure approvals and clearances for key TG development projects, including the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail.

In his letter, Mr. Ramchander Rao suggested that just as the Chief Minister had sought assistance from a BJP leader for appointments with Union ministers, the Congress government should also arrange a meeting with Rahul Gandhi to review the status of the six guarantees promised to the people of Telangana before the Assembly elections.

The BJP leader alleged that several assurances made by the Congress had either been delayed or only partially implemented and sought a discussion with Mr. Gandhi on the progress achieved so far.

The remarks triggered a sharp response from Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Kumar Goud, who accused the BJP of attempting to divert the attention from its own unfulfilled promises at the national level.

Mr. Goud challenged the BJP for a public debate comparing the Congress government’s performance in Telangana over the last two-and-a-half years with the BJP-led Union government’s record over the past 12 years.

“If Mr. Ramchander Rao can secure time from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are ready to discuss the promises made in the BJP’s election manifestos. The BJP should first focus on explaining its own commitments before questioning others,” he said.

He also questioned the BJP over issues such as the promise to bring back black money and the commitment to create two crore jobs annually.