A Revanth Reddy
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Sunday claimed that corporates showing an interest in investing in the south receive a direct call from the Prime Minister’s Office, threatening them to either invest in Gujarat or in the northern states.
"We (south states) are left with no choice but to fight for leftovers,” said Revanth during an informal chat with select media organisations in Bengaluru, as he revived the north-south debate that keeps flaring up now and then.
Revanth is in the city to campaign for the Congress in the LS polls.
Launching a broadside at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Revanth said the BJP always discriminated against the south and cited several high-profile initiatives such as finance city (GIFT City), bullet train and the Sabarmati riverfront — all of them in Gujarat — as examples of the Modi government's attitude.
The Telangana CM contrasted this with the Congress culture, which, he said, had always tried to strike a balance. Whenever it was in power in the past, Reddy said, there used to be unwritten agreement of sorts: if the Congress elected a north Indian PM, then the President used to be from the south or the vice-president and the speaker.
This has been missing in the 10 years of Modi’s rule, he said.
“Among powerful Cabinet posts, the south used to get three to four powerful posts like home, defence, finance. If we look at the present Cabinet portfolios, Karnataka, despite delivering 27 of the 28 seats to the BJP, got only one Cabinet post, while (undivided) Andhra Pradesh, which sent 40 MPs, got one Cabinet minister. The south is upset about such discrimination,” he said.
Continuing his argument, Revanth said south Indian representation is almost negligible within the BJP.
“The BJP is inherently discriminatory towards south, as even in its party set-up, it has not appointed any big leader from the south after the retirement of leaders like M Venkaiah Nadu or Bangaru Lakshman. They have not appointed anyone from the south as its president,” he said and warned that the party would pay a high price for its mindset towards the south.
He also dismissed 'Modi Ki Guarantee' slogan, saying "Modi ki Guarantee ka warranty ho gaya" (warranty on Modi’s Guarantee has lapsed) and asserted that the BJP wound not cross beyond 200 seats.