A day before Union Minister Amit Shah’s Sunday visit to Telangana’s Munugode, where a bypoll has been necessitated because of the resignation of Congress leader K Raj Gopal Reddy from his party, state Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had his first show of strength there, by going all out against the Centre. Leading a convoy of thousands of supporters from Hyderabad, Rao, popularly known as KCR, launched his campaign in the Assembly constituency, touted to be a crucial one for the BJP, which is seeking to expand its footprint in the state. The importance of the seat for both parties can be gauged by the fact that top leaders have descended even before finalisation of dates for the polling. At his public meeting, KCR accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “mortgaging the nation’s assets” and alleged “a conspiracy hatched to usurp the lands of farmers”. “The Modi government is pressuring me to put water metres at all agricultural farms. I asked them to get lost. I told them I will die but will not burden our farmers. There is a deep-rooted conspiracy. They will increase prices of power and fertilisers and not purchase the crops, which will make it difficult for the farmers to survive,” he said, adding: “Businessmen with suitcases full of money will come and want to buy your lands under the guise of corporate farming. Beware!. The Modi government has sold off airports, roads, and banks. Nothing has remained to sell, so they will come after farmers’ lands.” ఈ సందర్భంగా సీఎం కేసీఆర్ గారు మాట్లాడుతూ.. • ప్రజాదీవెన సభను ఆశీర్వదించడానికి వచ్చిన వారందరికీ నా నమస్కారం • ఒకనాడు మునుగోడు ప్రాంతం ఫ్లోరైడ్ సమస్యతో ఎన్నో బాధలు పడ్డది. pic.twitter.com/GZ9PzmvVdV — TRS Party (@trspartyonline) August 20, 2022 He also hit out at the Enforcement Directorate raids across different parts of the country, many of them against anti-BJP parties. “I challenge them to come after me. Thieves will be scared of the ED, why should I fear?" he said. KCR was flanked by not just his supporters but also Palla Venkat Reddy, former CPI MLA from the constituency, whose party on Saturday announced its support to the ruling TRS. The CPI has been a force to reckon with in the district, winning the seat five times. The leader whose resignation from the Congress left Munugode vacant, Rajgopal Reddy, is expected to join the BJP at Shah's meeting along with his followers. The Congress, grappling with internal tussles over leadership that caused Rajgopal to leave, also launched its campaign Saturday. Telangana PCC chief A Revanth Reddy toured the constituency under the banner of “Mana Munugode, Mana Congress (Our Munugode, Our Congress)”. Congress leaders hoisted party flats in over 100 villages and paid tributes to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary. Reddy said the Congress was pulling out all the stops to win the seat, and at least 100 leaders would visit during the campaign.
