Sonia Gandhi says Congress paid price for creating new state

Sonia Gandhi

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday said the Congress carved out Telangana state, though it had to pay a political price for it.

On the first visit to Telangana, after it came into being as a separate state in 2014, the former Congress president said it accorded statehood though it had to pay a price for this.

She was apparently referring to the drubbing Congress faced in Andhra Pradesh in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2014.

Sonia Gandi was addressing a massive public meeting at Medchal near Hyderabad to formally kick off the campaign of People's Front headed by the Congress for the next month's elections to Telangana Assembly.

Gandhi projected herself as the 'mother of Telangana' by stating that she is feeling happy to be in Telangana in the same manner as a mother would feel happy to see her child after many days.

"Every mother wants to see her children prosper, but I am pained to see the condition of the new state," she said castigating the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government for failing to fulfill the promises at the time of formation of their state.

"You know if a newborn is not properly taken care of in the initial years, he has to face many problems in future. Unfortunately, the responsibility of looking after the child was entrusted to those who only looked after themselves and left the child to fend for itself," said Sonia Gandhi.

Stating that elections are an opportunity for people to get rid of this difficult situation, she appealed to people to use the power of vote to teach TRS a lesson and bring Congress and its allies to power with a huge majority.

Leaders of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and Communist Party of India (CPI) shared the dais with Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi said the TRS rule was about to come to an end. Without naming TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, the Congress president said during last five years, one person ran the state at his whims and fancies for the benefit of his family.

Rahul Gandhi assured the people that the alliance would fulfil their dreams which Chandrashekhar Rao failed to do.

A former Maoist ideologue and revolutionary balladeer Gaddar, Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi (MRPS) leader Manda Krishna Madiga and leaders of various other groups felicitated Sonia Gandhi.

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