Vinod Kumar demands apology from Union Minister Bishweswar

Hyderabad: State Planning Commission vice chairman Boinapalli Vinod Kumar demanded an apology from Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu for falsely stating that Telangana government has not asked for national status to the Kaleshwar project.

It was sad that Union Minister speaking lies in the country's Parliament witness and he should withdraw his false statement.

A statement with facts has to be made in the Parliament, otherwise a Privilege Motion would be moved in the house, he said.

Vinod Kumar said that the Union Minister lied to the country's highest legislative body that the Telangana State government did not originally want to give national status to the Kaleshwaram project. The Union Minister Tudu should amend his false statements and come up with a fresh statement with facts in Parliament. He said that the Kaleshwaram project should be given national status.

Vinod Kumar said that on July 20, 2018, as Karimnagar MP, he had asked the Central government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to give national status to one of these two projects as Kaleshwaram project on Godavari River and Palamuru Rangareddy project on Krishna River were being constructed in Telangana. He made it clear that the facts will come out if Union Minister of State for Water Power Bishweshwar listens to his words as they were in the records of Parliament.

Vinod Kumar recalled that the then Union Minister Nitin Gatkari had announced in Parliament that no project in the country would be given national status. But, after his announcement, during the elections in the BJP-ruled State Uttar Pradesh, the Ken Betwa project received Rs 45,000 crore, and the Central government announced that it was giving national status to the Upper Bhadra project in the State of Karnataka with Rs 15,000 crore, which was a proof of the double standards of the Central government, said Vinod Kumar alleging raw deal to the State.

Vinod also recalled that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao submitted a petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Ministers within five days of the formation of the State to give national status to either the Kaleshwaram project or the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project. Vinod Kumar reminded that he submitted the petitions to Uma Bharti.