Congress public meeting on Sept. 17 proved Telangana is looking for change: Chidambaram

Had the Congress come to power in 2014, Telangana’s progress would have been at a different level, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao abuse each other to mislead people and divert their attention from the core issues such as inflation and fear psychosis in society in the name of religious conflicts, said former Union Home Minister and Rajya Sabha member P. Chidambaram.

Participating in a meeting of the Christian Rights Protection Committee here on Saturday, said Sonia Gandhi delivered Telangana with the aim to give power to all sections. But unfortunately, Congress couldn’t form the government to see the dream fulfilled the right way.

Had the Congress come to power in 2014, Telangana’s progress would have been at a different level, he said, adding that people now realise and have decided to change this government. This was evident in the attendance of the public meeting held on September 17 that followed the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Hyderabad.

“In my 50 years of public life, I have not seen such a huge rally. Among the attendees, more than half were below the age of 25 years. This indicates the change coming in Telangana,” the former Union Minister said.

Stating that democracy in India was in danger, he said the most affected in such a situation would be the minorities. Democracy would not vanish in a short period but in long term. The present government’s policies are in that direction where minorities, journalists, politicians and every section opposing the regime is targeted, he said.

The discrimination is evident from the fact that out of the 79 ministers in the Union Cabinet, there is just one Christian, and there is no Supreme Court judge from the community. He said people were suffering due to price rise and inflation has been over 6% in the country for the past 20 months. Never before in India’s history has inflation been over 6% for 20 months continuously, he said, adding food inflation is at 9.2% affecting the poorer sections.

He said neither the Modi government at the Centre nor the BRS government in Telangana has the capabilities to put the economy on track, but only Congress has that vision.