Telangana Integration Day: TS role model for others, says KCR; AIMIM holds bike rally

Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao said that the newest state in India is ‘numero uno’ in many parameters of growth and is a role model for other states to emulate. He was addressing the media and the public after attending a contingent parade and unfurling the National Flag at Public Gardens in the city on the occasion of Telangana Integration Day on September 17.

All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) also observed Telangana Integration Day and took out a massive Tiranga bike rally from Nampally on Sunday morning. Following the rally, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi addressed a public meeting at the Hockey Ground at Masab Tank and spoke about the sacrifices and bloodshed behind the integration of Hyderabad into the Indian Union in 1948.

Recalling the significance of September 17, when the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad was merged with the Indian Union, the CM KC spoke about the growth, achievement and various public projects of India’s youngest state successfully accomplished since its formation in 2014.

Interestingly, the chief minister did not refer to any of the political events happening in the city in his speech on Sunday, including the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting. Instead, he listed the various welfare schemes, projects, programmes and milestones reached through the developmental activities taken up by the Telangana government.

Irrigation projects helping farmers

“In terms of per capita income, Telangana ranks number one in the country. The poverty rate in the state has come down from 13.18 per cent in 2015 and 2018 to 5.88 per cent in 2019 and 2021,” the chief minister informed the gathering.

Speaking about irrigation projects, the chief minister said that for many decades, due to negligence and discrimination of leaders, Palamuru and Rangareddy regions suffered from lack of access to drinking and irrigation water. But with the latest irrigation project inaugurated in Mahabubnagar on Saturday, pumping of water from Krishna River has commenced from Narlapur.

“With this project, 12.3 lakh acres in Nagarkurnool, Mahabubnagar, Narayanpet, Rangareddy, Vikarabad and Nalgonda districts will be irrigated and 1,226 villages will get drinking water. The target of irrigating a total of 1 crore 25 lakh acres of ayakattu in the state will be fulfilled within a few years,” he said. Similarly, he also mentioned the Kaleshwaram project and its benefits to the state.

KCR also spoke about welfare measures such as 24-hour free electricity, timely supply of seeds and fertilisers, Rythu Bandhu and Raitu Bheema schemes, waiver of crop loans up to Rs 37,000 crore and others that the government had introduced for the farmers of the state. Due to these projects and more, the grain yield has reached three crore tonnes in the state, he said.

Housing schemes, medical colleges for the poor

Speaking about housing schemes, the chief minister said that one lakh houses for the poor have been completed and are ready for inauguration in Hyderabad. “We have also started the Gruhalakshmi scheme for the poor who want to build a house on their land. Under this scheme, the government will provide financial assistance of Rs 3 lakhs to the beneficiaries for the construction of houses in three phases,” he said.

The chief minister also spoke about opening at least one medical college in every district of the state. He informed that his government opened 21 new medical colleges within a decade of the formation of Telangana.

“In the recent Cabinet meeting, eight more medical colleges have been approved, which would be set up next year, thereby achieving the target of setting up a medical college for each district,” he said. “In 2014, only 850 MBBS seats were available in five government medical colleges, but today, the number of seats has increased to 3,915. In 2014, there were only 2,850 medical seats in both the public and private sector. Today, it has increased three-fold,” he added.

Elaborating on other welfare schemes, the CM KC said that the pension amount for the disabled has been increased by Rs 1,000 and the number of pensioners has gone up from 29 lakhs in 2014 to 44 lakhs this year. He also said that the Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme has been designed for the comprehensive development of the downtrodden Dalit community.

“Under this scheme, the government is providing a huge financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to each Dalit family to take up any profession or business of their choice. The government is also providing financial assistance of Rs one lakh for SC and STs along with minorities,” he said.

IT hub of the country

The chief minister also highlighted the growth in the IT sector and that of Hyderabad city.

“New companies are coming forward to invest in the state. In 2014, there were only 3,23,039 IT employees in the state. Today, their number has increased to 9,05,715. In 2014, IT exports amounted to Rs 57,258 crores. Today, that number has increased to Rs 2,41,275 crores. We have extended IT to two-tier cities like Khammam, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar and Siddipet where we have built IT towers,” he said.

As for making Hyderabad a global city, the chief minister said that his government is undertaking road development works at a cost of over Rs 67,000 crore to avoid traffic congestion and make it a signal-free city. “The government has decided to expand the metro rail in all directions of the city at a cost of Rs 69 billion. With this, Hyderabad will have a total of 415 km metro facility,” he said.

The chief minister concluded by saying that those who are trying to obstruct the development of Telangana would not be spared. “Our unity is our strength. Let us raise and strive for Golden Telangana,” KCR signed off.

AIMIM president gives a history lesson to rulers

At another event in Hockey Ground at Masab Tank, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi refuted the claims of first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and present Union home minister Amit Shah that the integration of the princely state of Hyderabad into the Indian Union was done without bloodshed.

“It is a fact that about 20,000 Muslims were killed during Operation Polo,” he said. He claimed that historically RSS, Jan Sangh or any members of Hindutva groups had any role in the merger of Hyderabad, and BJP had not even existed during that period.

“And yet they are trying to take credit. Neither RSS nor the present BJP has any right to raise objections over observing September 17 as National Integration Day,” Owaisi said.

He claimed that the first person sentenced to ‘kala paani ki saza’ (imprisoned at the cellular jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands) was Moulvi Alauddin, a Hyderabadi, while Turrabaz Khan, an imam of Makkah Masjid, managed to escape.

Owaisi said that during the freedom struggle, Turrabaz Khan had gathered the prayer goers of the masjid in front of British residency (present Koti College) and declared war against the British and the Nizam. He said Moulvi Alauddin shared the same conviction as his motto was to liberate the people from the clutches of the British and the Nizam. Even at that time, he had a concept of Bharat. Turrabaz Khan was arrested in Toopran and was hanged in front of the British Presidency and his body was left hanging for three-four days.

Owaisi said if he was born in the era of Nizam, then he would have felt a confined life as it was a kind of feudal system and there was no constitution. The Constitution of India gives freedom of expression.

He said that it was possible to integrate the princely state of Hyderabad easily without bloodshed but it was the fault of the rulers of that time. He said that the Pandit Sundarlal Committee also acknowledged the bloodshed during the merger. Pandit Sundarlal mentioned in his report that one Razakar’s cruelty against a Hindu resulted in hundreds of Muslims being killed. “It was true that Patel did not accept this report, but the report contains the truth,” he said.

Owaisi said that although the Nizams ran the region through a feudal system, the Nizam had done a lot for the betterment of his state and people. He did not distribute ‘jagirs’ (manors) around Hyderabad and he had a plan to establish Jubilee Hills Corporation.

The AIMIM president said those who were Razakars were sent off and those who are wafadar (loyal) are here standing proudly. “We are not leaving the land even in the face of mob lynching. We will face difficulties and harassment but will never show cowardice,” said Owaisi.