Working president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Minister for IT, Industries and Urban Development K. T. Rama Rao has termed the byelection to Munugode Assembly constituency as a contest between the arrogance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy and the self-respect of the people of the constituency.
In a statement he asked the TRS ranks to take the reasons that necessitated the byelection — the urge of an individual to grow financially with a huge work contract — into people so that they could make a proper choice. “It’s the contest between the money gotten with quid-pro-quo contracts and the power of people,” KTR said alleging that Mr. Rajgopal Reddy had had completely neglected the constituency by going after contract for nearly four years.
Mr. Rajgopal Reddy had failed as a legislator as he not only failed to keep the promises made to the electorate but also trying to deceive them one more time with his money power, KTR observed in the statement issued on Monday. However, the people of Munugode had resolved to teach a fitting lesson to Mr. Rajgopal Reddy, he said.
In a teleconference held with leaders and activists of the party taking part in the byelection campaign on Monday, he said Mr. Rajgopal Reddy had never cared for his constituents and cited the example of the MLA speaking for clearing dues of contractors’ bills in the Assembly many times and not on the constituents’ problems ever. Money was the only reason why Mr. Reddy had joined the BJP and it was with the same he was planning to win the byelection, KTR said.
He alleged that Mr. Rajgopal Reddy was trying to deceive the people of Munugode one more time by gifting cars, bikes and other valuable articles to some of them, particularly those who could influence the electorate at the village-level. He asked the TRS activists and leaders engaged in campaigning to expose the failures of Mr. Rajgopal Reddy as well as explain the work done by the TRS government for the last eight years.