‘BRS Secretly Joined Hands With BJP’: Congress Chief Kharge Tears Into KCR At Telangana Rally

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge was addressing a rally in Hyderabad in poll-bound Telangana.

New Delhi: Launching a scathing attack on Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said despite calling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) a “secular party”, CM KCR did not attend any meeting of the Opposition INDIA bloc and alleged the chief minister had “secretly joined hands with the BJP”.

The Congress national president alleged further that while his party was trying to rally all secular forces against the BJP-led NDA ahead of the general elections next year, KCR and his party were keeping up covert dalliances with the saffron party.

Addressing a Congress rally in Hyderabad in poll-bound Telangana on Saturday, Kharge said, “Twenty-six Opposition parties have united to remove Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre from power, but Telangana Chief Minister KCR did not attend a single meeting. They (BRS) call themselves a secular party, but they have secretly joined hands with BJP.”

Hitting back at the BJP over its charge that the Congress did nothing in its five decades in power at the Centre, Kharge said, “The Congress always delivers on its promises. Yet, the BJP claims we have done nothing in the past 53 years. They ask us to show the report card.”

“Whatever Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi promise, they do it. The Congress want to work for the people. KCR and the BJP have become friends. This is a covert friendship, they cannot speak publicly about this,” Kharge alleged.

He also highlighted the grand old party’s contribution to the country, including unification of princely states, making of the Constitution, irrigation projects initiated during Jawaharlal Nehru’s era, nationalisation of banks and promotion of computers during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure as Prime Minister.

"Who gave IIT, who gave IIM, who gave AIIMS, who made ISRO, who made DRDO, who made HAL, who made ONGC, who made SAIL. We built so much of public sector," the Congress chief said.

Significantly, the BRS chief had earlier ruled out joining the Opposition bloc, saying the party has “like-minded” partners, news agency ANI reported.

“What is this INDIA? Congress ruled the country for over 50 years and could not bring any change. The country is calling for a change,” the Telangana Chief Minister had said, as quoted by ANI.