Hyderabad

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday accused the Union government of unfairly sidelining southern states in the allocation of central funds, claiming that Telangana has repeatedly been denied its rightful share despite assurances from Union ministers. He questioned whether voters should place faith in such promises ahead of the upcoming municipal elections.

Speaking at a press conference before the polls, Reddy said the Centre had approved multiple large-scale projects for northern states, while Telangana had not received approval for even a single major initiative.

He alleged that southern states were being systematically disadvantaged in funding decisions. Citing examples, the Chief Minister said states such as Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh were receiving several times more in central assistance than their contributions. He also questioned why Union ministers from Telangana, including Bandi Sanjay Kumar and G. Kishan Reddy, had failed to secure additional financial support for the state. According to him, while projects were sanctioned elsewhere, Telangana continued to be overlooked.

Reddy described the municipal elections as a three-way contest involving the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which governed the state for a decade, the BJP-led Central government, and the Congress, which is currently in power in Telangana. He revisited what he termed unfulfilled commitments made by BJP leaders in earlier elections, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 promise in Mahabubnagar to accord national project status to the Palamuru–Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme.

The Chief Minister also referred to BJP leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s campaign in Adilabad, alleging that assurances related to the Pranahita–Chevella project were never implemented. Reddy said he had expected BJP leaders to seek votes only after delivering on those commitments, but instead accused them of making remarks that undermined Telangana while appealing for electoral support.

Additionally, Reddy accused Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar of retracting assurances given to Hyderabad residents affected by floods. He claimed that flood-hit families were initially promised compensation for lost belongings, but were later told to rely on insurance coverage instead.

Taking aim at claims by Central ministers about substantial financial assistance to Telangana, the Chief Minister said those now seeking votes were portraying themselves as facilitators of development. “Should people believe these claims?” he asked.

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The Telangana municipal elections are scheduled to be held on February 11, with vote counting set for February 13. The polls will cover 116 municipalities and seven municipal corporations across the state.