Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Kumar Goud on Wednesday called Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan an anti-Telangana leader and advised him to focus on Andhra Pradesh politics instead of campaigning in Telangana.
Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan, Goud accused the Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister of speaking against Telangana in the past and claimed that no one in the state would heed his call to support the Jana Sena Party.
He also predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party would win zero seats in the upcoming municipal polls. Criticising BJP’s alleged attempts to provoke voters in the name of religion—similar to tactics used in the Jubilee Hills by-election—he said Telangana voters would reject such divisive politics.
TPCC attacks BJP over funds, federalism, and Telangana’s share
Goud accused the BJP of neglecting Telangana’s development by denying central funds and failing to fulfil commitments under the State Reorganisation Act. He cited unfulfilled promises such as the Bayyaram Steel Plant, national status for irrigation projects, and IIMs.
He claimed that despite Telangana contributing ₹4.32 lakh crore in GST over five years, it had received only ₹3.76 lakh crore in return. He further alleged that the central government had diverted tax revenues to northern states, especially Gujarat, and cut ₹90,000 crore in budgetary allocations for women.
The TPCC chief also demanded answers from the BJP leadership about the actual budgetary share Telangana received, questioning the silence of the state’s 8 MPs and 2 Union ministers. He said that while Telangana is pushing ahead with development plans under the Telangana Rising 2047 policy, the Centre has failed to support it in key sectors such as roads, metro rail, pharma, and tourism.