Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday accused the BJP of trying to turn India into an “absolute one-party system” on the lines of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and alleged that the controversy over AICC Telangana in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan’s rejected Rajya Sabha nomination was part of that larger political design.Speaking to mediapersons in Delhi after meeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Revanth alleged that the BJP had moved beyond ‘stealing votes’ and was now attempting to ‘steal seats’ by misusing institutions.“The saffron party’s decision to field a third candidate despite lacking the necessary numbers exposed their conspiracy. After being successful in snatching Meenakshi’s seat, BJP and BRS indulged in an aggressive campaign by alleging that there were coverts in the Congress. This ploy was only to divert attention from the BJP’s illegal actions,” Revanth alleged.Defending Meenakshi over the private complaint that led to the rejection of her nomination papers by the returning officer in Madhya Pradesh, Revanth said she had no role in resolving disputes between individuals.“Meenakshi does not have the authority to resolve a dispute between two persons. When a private complaint is filed in the court, the court issues summons as part of the procedure. Nomination only requires the details of criminal cases to be included but there is no time limit for the notices to be included. Even notices could have been issued on PM Modi but all such notices may not have been mentioned in his election affidavit,” he explained.He alleged that the returning officer had acted in a partisan manner. “The Election Commission returning officer acted like a BJP party worker and took a decision benefiting the BJP. As per the Supreme Court’s instructions, we will file an election petition,” he said.While Revanth maintained that cabinet expansion did not figure in his discussions with Rahul Gandhi, sources said the issue came up briefly and could be taken up later this month. “The present cabinet is good. All the MLAs of the Congress are eligible for a ministerial berth. Anyone can meet Rahul Gandhi,” he said.Sources said Revanth also briefed Rahul Gandhi on the Meenakshi complaint, political situation in Telangana, Congress govt’s performance over the past two-and-a-half years and its roadmap for the remainder of the term.Responding to questions on Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister and Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan, Revanth said that permission had not been denied to him for political reasons. “Pawan Kalyan is free like everyone to come and go and contest elections in Telangana. Why would that be a problem to us? Our ministers responded because he had allegedly spoken against the sentiments of Telangana,” he said.The chief minister also sought to downplay the significance of his recent interaction with Modi. “It was PM Modi who hugged me. I did not initiate it. Nothing more should be seen into it. When Centre and states work in coordination, then only states and the country will develop. I requested him to cooperate in the pending projects in the state and sought approvals and central funding for projects,” he said.Revanth accused the Centre of discriminating against Telangana and said Union minister G Kishan Reddy was blocking approvals and funds meant for the state. “There are internal differences among the Telangana BJP MPs. If the eight BJP MPs from Telangana threaten to resign, the Centre will approve projects and release funds to the state,” he said.On inter-state projects, Revanth said Telangana required around 2,000 acres in Maharashtra for the proposed Tummidihatti barrage under the Pranahita-Chevella project and that his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis had agreed to discuss the issue in July.‘I never said Hitler was my role model’CM Revanth said his remarks invoking Hitler at a meet had been distorted. “Why would anyone living in a democracy ever claim Hitler as their role model? My comments were distorted. I had taken the name of Hitler only to clarify that HYDRAA is going after land sharks and protecting water bodies in Telangana, and that there was reportedly one HYDRA during Hitler’s regime too,” he said.
