With BJP's 55-days long foot march in Hyderabad starting today, thousands of people took part in Praja Sangrama padayatra sparking concern of a Covid resurgence. Meanwhile, the foot march led by state BJP chief Bandi Sanjay also made the "Taliban mindset" slur against an unnamed opposition party.
The Karimnagar MP promised to "liberate Telangana from the family and dictatorial rule of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao" and posed the provocative question of whether the people wanted a party with a "Taliban mindset," apparently referring to the AIMIM, led by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
With flags, banners, and hoardings, the entire area took on a saffron colour as the march began near the Bhagya Lakshmi temple by the Charminar. People gathered in large numbers and chanted "Jai Sri Ram" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" with no regard for Covid protocols, raising fears that the march would become a Covid hotspot.
Meanwhile, during the march, the state Chief Minister was challenged by Bandi Sanjay to organise a Ganesh Shobha Yatra and Hanuman Jayanti from the Old City.
Targeting CM, the BJP leader claimed that Rao failed in fulfilling his promises of job and unemployment benefits to young people, a Dalit chief minister and a 125-feet statue of BR Ambedkar.
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"Only his family has benefitted because of the formation of Telangana. Now he is talking about Dalit Bandhu Scheme... Whereas he is responsible for the suicides of unemployed youth, farmers and students," he stated.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the ruling party, on the other hand, responded harshly to Bandi Sanjay's claims, threatening to chop off his tongue if he made "false allegations."
They said that Bandi Sanjay should undertake his foot march in Delhi in order to secure more Central funds for the state.
G Kishan Reddy, the Union Minister for Culture and Tourism, also took part in the yatra and predicted that the BJP would win the assembly elections in 2023.