BJP Telangana president N. Ramchander Rao on Wednesday said the Congress should apologise to the people of the State and the student community for its role during the Telangana movement and for allegedly failing to fulfil promises made to the youth.

In a statement, he demanded that Congress leaders, who he said were ‘spreading lies about rubber pellets’ allegedly being used during protests in Delhi, explain their role in the deaths of students during the Telangana movement.

Mr. Rao alleged that the Congress approach during the first and second phases of the Telangana movement was responsible for the loss of more than 1,400 student and youth lives. He claimed that many young people were driven to despair after the Centre’s handling of the Statehood issue.

Recalling the developments leading up to the formation of Telangana, he said that then Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram had announced the decision to create the State, only for the Centre to subsequently backtrack, which, he alleged, crushed the aspirations of Telangana supporters and contributed to a wave of student suicides.

Mr. Rao also questioned whether Telangana students who were allegedly killed in police firing during the Congress regime were ‘terrorists’. He criticised Congress leaders for attacking the BJP over its ideological links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and remarked that they should be ‘ashamed’ that, according to him, their own party is ‘run from Italy’.

The BJP leader further alleged that the Congress government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had failed to implement the promises made under the ‘Youth Declaration’ unveiled by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi during the Assembly election campaign.

He also condemned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks during the debate on the Public Examinations Amendment Bill and NEET examination reforms in the Lok Sabha, alleging that the comments had ‘insulted’ the country’s student community.

ATA Conference Visit

Mr. Ramchander Rao will leave for the United States on July 30 to attend the 19th American Telugu Association (ATA) Conference and Youth Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, as a distinguished guest. He is expected to interact with members of the Indian diaspora, community leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals to discuss Telangana’s growth prospects and explore opportunities for greater engagement between the Telugu diaspora and the State. He is scheduled to return on August 6, according to a press release.