YSRTP leaders led by Gattu Ramachandra Rao join BRS, claim they are merging the party

YSR Telangana Party (TSRTP) leaders join BRS; Harish Rao accuses Congress of insulting Telangana movement. BJP leaders from Alair constituency also join BRS. YSRTP's Gattu Ramachandra Rao and others joined BRS 10 days after YSRTP president Y.S. Sharmila announced party won't contest Telangana Assembly Elections-2023.

hyderabad

Several leaders of YSR Telangana Party (TSRTP) including all its district coordinators led by Gattu Ramachandra Rao joined the Bharat Rashtra Samiti here on Monday. They took the step 10 days after YSRTP president Y.S. Sharmila announced that the party will not contest Telangana Assembly Elections-2023 and expressed support to Congress.

They also claimed that they were merging the YSRTP into the BRS. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Harish Rao said when the Telangana Rashtra Samithi ( now BRS) was launched, there was no dearth of leaders, particularly those from Seemandhra regions, who belittled by questioning if Telangana leaders knew how to run a party and whether it would sustain even for a few years. They had even remarked that running a party is not akin to opening a ‘pan dabba’, a small kiosk to sell ‘pan’. However, the party fought for statehood and achieved it in spite of witnessing many ups and downs in its 14-year journey, he said.

Mr. Harish Rao said that leaders such as N. Kiran Kumar Reddy went to the extent of stating that Telangana, if formed, would plunge into darkness as it had no power generation facilities to meet the need/demand. All such leaders were taught a fitting lesson by making Telangana into the only State in the country to supply 24×7 power to all categories of consumers including free power to farming. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao introduced many role model schemes, which were being replicated by the Centre and several other States, he said.

Except for using unparliamentary language every day against KCR, who is of her father’s age, YSRTP founder Y.S. Sharmila had never exhibited any inkling to work for the party and people, said Mr. Harish Rao. He added that the Karnataka model of the Congress was well understood not only by the people of Karnataka but those in Telangana too, thanks to Karnataka leaders campaign here.

Mr. Harish Rao accused the Congress leaders of going to the extent of insulting the movement for statehood to Telangana and the slogan of ‘neellu, nidhulu, niyamakaalu’ (water, funds and jobs). Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A. Revanth Reddy was also insulting the martyrs who had sacrificed themselves for statehood to Telangana.

“Leaders, for whom carrying the suitcases (luggage) of the Seemandhra leaders has been their duty, will never hesitate to place the interests of Telangana at the feet of their Seemandhra bosses”, Mr. Harish Rao said and mentioned that even Karnataka, whose example he (Revanth) gave, sought rice supply from Telangana for its needs.