Hyderabad, April 16: Civil Supplies and Irrigation Minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Congress party would accomplish the 'Mission Telangana—15' by winning at least 15 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the State.

Uttam Kumar Reddy, along with Congress MLA N Padmavathi and Nalgonda candidate Raghuveer Reddy, participated in the election campaign in Kodad and Huzurnagar constituencies under Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday. He addressed a series of party meetings in Kodad and Huzurnagar and later addressed a large public meeting in Miryalguda.

Addressing the meetings, he said that the people would reject the BJP and BRS as both parties have betrayed the interests of Telangana. He said while BRS has lost its relevance in Telangana, the BJP has no moral right to seek votes in the Lok Sabha elections.

He accused the BJP of making another attempt to cheat the common people with a fresh set of 'jumlas' in the Lok Sabha elections. He said the BJP Government at the Centre, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had failed to deliver on its promises in the last two terms. This time, too, the BJP is trying to cheat the people by making fresh promises. However, he said that the BJP cannot be trusted, and its manifesto was nothing but another 'jumla patra' that cannot be trusted.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that BJP's national manifesto had nothing to offer to the common people as it is full of lies and deception. He said that the BJP's manifesto lacked the mention of unemployment which is at its peak across the country. He said PM Modi came to power in 2014 on the promise of giving two crore jobs every year. By now, at least 18-20 crore jobs must have been created. However, about 15-16 crores jobs, including 2 lakh jobs from the Public Sector Units, were lost under Modi's regime. Shockingly, he said BJP's manifesto has no mention of unemployment. In contrast, he said the Congress party, in its 'Nyay Patra', has promised to create crores of jobs besides filling 30 lakh vacancies in various departments of the Central Government.

The Minister accused the BJP of betraying the farmers across the country. He asked why PM Modi and other BJP leaders were silent on their promise of doubling farmers' income by 2022. Contrary to the promise, the income of farmers was depleted due to a lack of support from the Central Government. He reminded that the Modi Government was forced to repeal three farm laws that were introduced to benefit the corporate sector. Although lakhs of farmers held protests demanding legislation to get a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce, the BJP completely neglected their demand. However, he said that the Congress party, in its manifesto, has pledged to give a legal guarantee to MSP.

He also condemned the BJP for neglecting the issue of rising inflation in the country. While the prices of essential commodities have increased significantly, fuel prices have more than doubled in the last ten years. Instead of addressing the issue, the BJP simply neglected its mention in its manifesto. Similarly, he said that the Modi Government had promised to provide houses to all homeless people in the country by 2022. However, the scheme remained unimplemented, and no poor family, especially in Telangana, got a house from the Modi Government.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the BJP has no moral right to seek votes in Telangana as it completely neglected the State in the last ten years. He said the BJP Government did not fulfill or even acknowledge the promises made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act in 2014. They include setting up a Railway Coach Factory at Warangal, a steel plant at Bayyaram, a power plant of 4,000 MW by NTPC and a Tribal University. He said that the Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh has become functional. However, it remained a non-starter in Telangana due to the negligence of the BJP Government.

He said that the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR), approved by the previous Congress-led UPA Govt near Hyderabad to create over 50 lakh jobs, was shelved by the BJP Government. Similarly, he said that the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act mandated the establishment of an AIIMS in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. However, he said that the Centre has released more than 50% of allocated funds for 14 out of 16 AIIMS across the country, but only a fraction of the funds were released for Telangana's AIIMS.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that while BJP was doing all these injustices, BRS remained a mute spectator and supported the Modi Government in all its moves. He said the people of Telangana would reject both BJP and BRS and ensure the victory of Congress candidates in at least 15 out of 17 Lok Sabha seats in the State.