PM Modi's remarks against Telangana were aimed at hiding failures: Shabbir

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Wednesday, Shabbir Ali said that it was ridiculous on the part of the Prime Minister to question the procedure adopted for passing the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act in the Parliament in 2013. He said PM Modi spoke about developments which took place in 2013 when he was not even a Member of Parliament. He said instead of narrating an imaginative tale in his speech, Modi should've cross-checked the facts with the Parliament records. He said that the Bill for formation of Telangana was debated in both the Houses of Parliament and it was passed as per the set Parliamentary norms and procedures.

"Telangana Bill was passed by the Congress-led UPA Govt which believes in true democracy. Unlike BJP Govt, the Congress Govts never introduced a law or implemented any major decision without debating them in the Parliament. Before targetting the Congress, Modi should explain as to why the BJP Government used the Parliament as a Bill-passing factory. Several laws, including amendments to the Land Acquisition Act, Triple Talaq Bill and the Citizenship Amendment Act were passed without debate. Many decisions like demonetisation, abrogation of Article 370 and three controversial Farm Laws were passed without debate and without consulting anyone by the Modi Govt," he said.

Shabbir Ali said Modi was not aware of the history of Telangana and the statehood movement. He is also not aware of how the Bill to create Telangana was passed. "He is only good at reading scripts of his speech. We seriously doubt whether the allegation of him having a fake degree is true. If he was literate, he would've known that AP Reorganisation Act was passed as per the procedure. Prior to the introduction of Bill, many committees like Fazal Ali Commission, Pranab Mukherjee Committee, Ghulam Nabi Azad Committee, etc., were formed to study the demand for Telangana's statehood," he said.

The Congress leader said PM Modi has no moral right to speak about Telangana. "BJP Govt did not fulfill any of the promises made in the APRA. It denied Telangana its due share in new projects and it also cancelled major projects like the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) which was approved by the previous UPA Govt. No project from Telangana was accorded the status of a National Project. Similarly, Modi cheated the people of Andhra Pradesh on the promise of Special Status," he said.

Shabbir Ali said Modi Govt has done gross injustice with both the Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. "During his reply to debate on the Presidential Address, Modi's hatred towards Telangana and its people got exposed," he said.

The Congress leader Modi has no right to speak about the former Prime Ministers and other Congress leaders. "Modi either talks about what happened 70 years ago or what will happen after 25 years. He is not willing to speak on what his government did in the last seven years. He often makes comments on former PMs Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indra Gandhi. Modi was not even born when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru became Prime Minister. He was a two-year-old baby when Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister. Emergency in India was for a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977. If the emergency was a mistake, then people have punished the Congress party in 1977 elections. People of India re-elected the Congress party in five General Elections in 1980, 1984, 1991, 2004 and 2009. Therefore, by spreading fictional stories about Emergency, PM Modi should not try to hide his failures," he said.

Shabbir Ali said that the Congress party would continue its protest until PM Modi tenders an unconditional apology to the people of Telangana for his controversial comments.

TPCC Working President Mahesh Kumar Goud, Youth Congress president Shiv Sena Reddy, TPCC General Secretary Md. Afzaluddin, Hyderabad Congress Minorities Department Chairman Sameer Waliullah and other leaders were also present in the press conference.