Dubbing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious goal of India achieving $5 trillion economy as a "joke" and "silly", Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said the target should have been much bigger.
Replying to the debate on the Appropriation Bill in the State Assembly, Rao, also known as KCR, hit out at Modi saying that the whole country expected that the Prime Minister would speak something on the Adani issue in the Parliament but people were disappointed.
The Chief Minister, referring to an article in an international magazine, said there was "License Raj" during the Congress rule while it was "Silence Raj" in the present government.
"By 2023-24, Modi said India will become a $5 trillion economy. That 5 trillion (economy) itself is a joke. Really silly. At least, our aim should be big. We should dare to dream. That 5 trillion (economy aim) itself is very very less, out of which only USD 3.5 trillion was achieved," KCR said.
Meanwhile, BJP Telangana unit president and Lok Sabha member Bandi Sanjay Kumar found fault with the Chief Minister for allegedly misusing the State Assembly to "hurl abuses" at PM Modi.
Instead of explaining about the development done in Telangana and the promises made by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), KCR sought to abuse and attack the BJP and Modi on the floor of the august House, Kumar said, according to an release.
According to the BJP leader, Rao was trying to mislead the people by whipping up Telangana sentiment all over again by accusing the Centre of not giving any funds to the state.
Throwing a challenge, Kumar said the BJP was ready for a comprehensive debate on what the Centre had done for Telangana and how much money it had released to the state vis-à-vis what the BRS government had done for the people of the state in the last nine years.
KCR, comparing the governments of UPA and NDA, said the country lost miserably in every sector and Telangana in particular lost about Rs 3 lakh crore in terms of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
"Indian banks and also LIC have invested in that company (Adani Group). The whole world was looking at Modi as to what he would say (on Adani's issues). He did not even utter a word on that subject. He was beating around the bush," KCR said tearing into the NDA government.
Ridiculing the argument that India has become the fifth largest economy in the world, Rao said it is the per capita that has to be taken into consideration to assess any country's performance.
He said when it comes to per capita income, countries like Bangladesh and Bhutan are ahead of India.
Rao denounced some people approaching the Supreme Court seeking a ban on BBC which recently aired a controversial programme on the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Alleging that the NDA government is engaged in "endless privatisation of public sector enterprises," KCR said the Central government's policy appears to be "socialisation of losses and privatisation of profits".
"Modi says the government has no business to do business. I say the government has every right to do business wherever it is required. Government has no business means it is escaping from the responsibility entrusted by the people of India. We should share the responsibility. You cannot shrug it off," he said.
KCR claimed that 20 lakh people have given up their Indian citizenship during the NDA regime.
The Chief Minister also mocked Modi for launching Vande Bharat Express whenever a new train was introduced and said there are better trains like Rajdhani Express in the country.
Highlighting the alleged failures of the NDA government at the Centre, Rao questioned why there are "water wars" in the country when it is available in excess and credited the successive governments at the Centre with "bad water policy".
He also alleged that the States were forced to import coal even when the commodity was abundant in the country.
Meanwhile, Telangana Assembly was adjourned sine die.