Rahul Gandhi
Exuding confidence of the Congress led alliance winning the Telangana assembly elections 'hands down', AICC President Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said the question of chief ministership in the event of it coming to power was premature.
Addressing a press conference here, he also claimed that the TRS chief and caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) was showing signs of "nervousness and insecurity", evident from his 'abusive language' during the poll campaign.
"It is frankly premature to decide who the CM candidate is going to be. Our first goal is to remove Mr. KCR (as caretaker Chief Minister Rao is referred to by many) and TRS, who have damaged the dream of Telangana. We are together committed to that goal".
"I won't get into how many seats we (the Congress-led alliance) will win but I am pretty confident and most of the (opinion) polls are saying that we are going to win the elections", Gandhi said.
He charged KCR with using "abusive language" in campaigning and claimed that it showed signs of his nervousness and insecurity.
"Also if you listen to the Chief Minister's body language...and the type of comments he is making in some of his speeches...I think yesterday he was quite abusive...he abused a couple of people.
"Earlier in his speech also he was abusive...these are all signs of nervousness and insecurity developing... I think he said he is going to take rest. These are all signs of reality coming to him", Gandhi said.
"So I think I am pretty confident that the alliance is going to win the elections, it's going to win the elections hands down", Gandhi said.
He said the alliance would make sure that Telangana is run by the people of state, "by the spirit of the youngsters who sacrificed the lives for (the cause of) Telangana."
The Congress-led alliance 'Prajakutami' (Peoples Alliance) comprises TDP, Telangana Jana Samithi and the CPI.
Responding to questions, Gandhi said the farmers 'crisis' was not only a Telangana issue, but also a national one.
He alleged that farmers are treated as a 'liability' by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the TRS regime in the state.
"They are treated as liabilities. We are absolutely convinced that farmers are the biggest assets of this country and need to be treated as assets and not as liabilities. They needed to be treated with respect," Gandhi said.
"Mr Modi has 'forgiven' Rs 3.50 lakh crore of debt of 15 (rich) people. Many (people) question and lot of people are also asking that when you forget the debt of 15 people, why cant you forget the debt of crores of farmers?" he asked.
Gandhi said that the 'Peoples Alliance', if voted to power in Telangana, would aim to transform farmers' lives by injecting farm technology and connecting agrarians to the world.
He alleged that Modi had committed a crime against the youth of the country in the name of the note ban, which, according to him, destroyed the informal economy.
Gandhi also charged the Prime Minister with attacking "every single" institution in the country.
"Also, the CBI director was shifted at midnight because he wanted to look at the files related to Rafale deal," he said. TDP Chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, TJS President Prof. M Kodandaram and CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy were present at the press conference.
Naidu said it was just 'false propaganda' by KCR that he was obstructing some Telangana irrigation projects. He said both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana would sit together and sort out the issues.
"Me and Rahulji want to see both states prosper and also take them to new heights," Naidu said.
