By P. Srinivas

Copyright deccanchronicle

Nalgonda: Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Thursday challenged BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao to prove his party’s strength in the Jubilee Hills Assembly Constituency byelection, rather than making “bombastic statements.”Welcoming 80 members from different political parties into the Congress fold at Yedulapuram in Khammam district, he remarked that Rama Rao might be in India or the United States after three and a half years when the next Telangana Assembly elections are due. He urged the BRS leader to first demonstrate his party’s strength in the Jubilee Hills byelection, expected within six months, and to set his own party’s house in order before criticising others.Calling Rama Rao “Twitter Tillu,” the minister questioned whether he or his father had any real vision for politics or the future of their party. He accused the BRS of betraying the aspirations of Telangana’s people during its 10-year rule. While people had dreamt of better employment and improved living standards after statehood, the BRS government had failed to deliver. He argued that if one lakh houses had been sanctioned each year, nearly 10 lakh shelterless families would have homes by now. Instead, he alleged, the BRS misled people with promises of double-bedroom houses, and pursued projects like the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme for commissions, neglecting housing for the poor. “Snakes have poison only in their fangs, but BRS leaders have it throughout their bodies to harm the people,” he said.Reminding that the BRS had been rejected in both Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, Ponguleti asserted that the party would face the same fate in the upcoming local body polls. He expressed confidence that people would continue to support Congress, given its welfare schemes, Indiramma housing programme, and development initiatives aimed at uplifting the poor.Later, at Kusumanchi, the minister laid the foundation stone for internal CC roads worth Rs 35 lakh and reiterated that the Congress government was committed to both welfare and development. He said Indiramma houses would be sanctioned to all eligible families in a phased manner, with 4.5 lakh houses already cleared in the first phase and scope for three more phases before the next Assembly elections.At his Kusumanchi camp office, he also distributed Kalyana Lakshmi cheques to 18 beneficiaries.