Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday tore into the ruling BJP at the Centre over the freebies debate, alleging it was “insulting†to dub welfare schemes as freebies.
Rao, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) supremo, also launched a broadside against the NDA government at the Centre, alleging it was hurting federal values, weakening states financially and also centralising powers.
KCR, as Rao is known, charged the Centre with imposing enormous burden on the poor and middle classes by imposing taxes on various products, including milk and construction of graveyards.
Wading into the row over freebies, the Chief Minister said, “people’s welfare is the primary responsibility of the governments.†“It is blame-worthy that the Centre, without properly fulfilling that responsibility, is insulting by calling welfare schemes as freebies,†Rao said.
Prime Minister Narednra Modi had recently said freebies are a spoke in India’s effort to become self-reliant and also a burden on taxpayer and criticised some opposition parties for engaging in the politics of freebies.
Further, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving a “perverse twist†to the debate on freebies, saying the AAP leader putting education and health in that category is an attempt to create fear in the minds of the poor.
In his Independence Day address after hoisting the national flag at the historic Golconda Fort here, Rao said the makers of the nation’s Constitution put in place a federal structure as they wanted the Centre and states together to lead the march of progress.
“The present Central government in Delhi is hurting federal values.
