Latest news with #K.T.RamaRao
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
BRS to begin its preparedness for local bodies' polls with constituency-level meetings
HYDERABAD The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has decided to hold constituency-level meetings for key workers this week as part of preparing the party for the forthcoming local bodies' elections. Working president K.T. Rama Rao said the meetings are aimed at exposing the betrayal of the Congress government over the last 20 months. Asking the party leaders to focus on the Congress government's failures, including betrayals against farmers and other sections of the society, he said the meetings must discuss collapse of governance due to the incompetence of the Revanth Reddy-led government. He told the party ranks to prepare for local bodies' elections, likely to be held soon in the light of court orders, rigorously. He tasked the district presidents of the party with coordinating the meetings in every constituency. The meetings would see participation of the party sitting and former MLAs, MLCs, MPs, ZP Chairpersons, former corporation chairpersons, and senior State committee members. He wanted the meeting to highlight the government's neglect of farmers, including the non-implementation of the Rythu Bandhu/Bharosa scheme and its failure to address shortage of urea and seed. He criticized the government's inaction on irrigation and power supply issues, affecting farmers over the past 20 months. Asking the party ranks to educate/inform people about the Congress government's lack of sincerity in implementing the promised 42% reservation for Backward Classes (BCs) and its deceptive attempts to push it with the help of an ordinance and also on the promise to enhance social security pension amount to various categories of beneficiaries. He also told party workers to remind people about the BRS' sustained public agitations and protests on the unkept promises over the past 20 months.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
KTR bats for fair share to South States in policy-making, resource-sharing
BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao has stressed the need for protecting the federal structure of the country and has cautioned against the growing centralisation of power and resources in the Hindi heartland at the expense of Southern States, which contribute most to the country's economy. Participating in a discussion on 'The North-South Divide in Indian Politics', organised by a TV network in Jaipur on Sunday, he stated that representation in Parliament must not be dictated purely by population, as the Southern States had proactively implemented population control. Citing data, he noted that while Southern States like Kerala limited its population growth to just 69% since 1950, Uttar Pradesh witnessed a staggering 239% rise. This demographic imbalance, he warned, was now set to translate into a political imbalance through the proposed delimitation exercise, which could see South India lose parliamentary seats as North India stands to gain. 'The more political parties start feeling that the Hindi belt will decide who becomes the Prime Minister, the entire focus will be on making policies that suit the Hindi belt only,' he cautioned. Language imposition On the issue of language imposition, Mr. Rama Rao said that the country has no national language and it does not need one. 'With 22 official languages and over 300 unofficial ones, our diversity is our strength. Language is not just a tool of communication, it's our cultural identity. I am not enforcing Telugu on you, so why enforce Hindi on me,' he asked. Raising concerns over controversies around electoral roll revisions in Bihar, the BRS leader noted that allegations of nearly five lakh voters being struck off the rolls would undermine India's democratic foundations. 'This is deeply worrying. In the last Bihar elections, the losing margin was just 12,500 votes,' he mentioned and asked the Election Commission to act fairly. He questioned the Centre's credibility on the promises made under AP Reorganisation Act such as increase in the Assembly seats in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. 'They hurriedly increased seats in Jammu & Kashmir and Assam for political gains, but ignored South India,' he said.
The Print
5 days ago
- Business
- The Print
Nasscom, craft rum & now aerospace, Lokesh swoops in to pitch AP as alternative to Karnataka
Since the TDP-led NDA government took over last June, Lokesh has attempted to tap several occasions where industrialists, entrepreneurs and business bodies in Congress-ruled Karnataka expressed displeasure over the state's policies, which they saw as detrimental to their sectors. Taking a leaf out of the playbook of Telangana's former IT and industries minister K.T. Rama Rao, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Lokesh has his eyes and ears sharply focused on 'disappointments' and complaints from Bengaluru, another IT start-up capital in the neighbouring state of Karnataka, hoping to turn frustration with Bengaluru into business for Andhra Pradesh. Hyderabad: Ten years after losing the state's IT powerhouse, Hyderabad, to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh's IT minister, Nara Lokesh, is seizing any opportunity he can to attract investments as the truncated state tries to reposition itself as a leading business destination. The latest was Tuesday, when Lokesh jumped on the Siddaramaiah government's decision to scrap plans to acquire land for the aerospace park at Devanahalli near the Bengaluru international airport, following protests by farmers, offering 'a better idea' to the industry: move to Andhra Pradesh. 'Why don't you look at Andhra Pradesh instead? We have an attractive aerospace policy for you, with best-in-class incentives and over 8000 acres of ready-to-use land (just outside Bengaluru)! Hope to see you soon to talk across the table,' Lokesh wrote on X. Dear Aerospace industry, sorry to hear about this. I have a better idea for you. Why don't you look at Andhra Pradesh instead? We have an attractive aerospace policy for you, with best-in-class incentives and over 8000 acres of ready-to-use land (just outside Bengaluru)! Hope to… — Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) July 15, 2025 Lokesh's apparent reference is to Lepakshi, just across the border in Andhra Pradesh, where the Chandrababu Naidu government has plans to develop a space city—a hub for R&D as well as manufacturing of satellites and launch vehicles. The city, proposed under the new Andhra Pradesh Space Policy (4.0), is also capitalising on its proximity to Bengaluru, home to the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) R&D hub and prominent aerospace clusters. Asked about this approach, Lokesh told ThePrint the idea is to put their 100 percent into attracting more big-ticket investments to spur Andhra Pradesh's growth. 'We are operating like a startup, showing that hunger and fire, and working overtime to get things done.' Also Read: Sriharikota, start-ups to space cities: Naidu govt aims for the cosmos with ambitious space policy Capitalising on discontent This is not the first time Lokesh has reached out to investors following discontent in Karnataka. In July last year, barely a month after becoming the minister, Lokesh touched base with Nasscom, again via X, after the IT industry body expressed serious concerns over the Karnataka government's decision to bring in legislation mandating 50-75 percent reservation of jobs in management and below levels to locals in private companies. Lokesh was prompted by a public statement by Nasscom that 'restrictions could force companies to relocate as local skilled talent becomes scarce'. Like the aerospace case, Lokesh addressed the stakeholders directly, assuring them there would be no such restrictions imposed on them in Andhra Pradesh. 'Dear @NASSCOM members, we understand your disappointment. We welcome you to expand or relocate your businesses to our IT, IT services, AI and data center cluster at Vizag.' Dear @NASSCOM members, We understand your disappointment. We welcome you to expand or relocate your businesses to our IT, IT services, AI and data center cluster at Vizag. We will offer you best-in-class facilities, uninterrupted power, infrastructure and the most suitable… — Lokesh Nara (@naralokesh) July 17, 2024 After Hyderabad's loss, Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag, has been serving as Andhra Pradesh's IT centre, although it is just a weak shadow of the former. Similarly, last month, Lokesh's office got in touch with Aruna Urs, co-founder of Mysuru-based craft rum distiller Huli, who was fuming over license fee hikes in Karnataka. The outreach was to invite the brewer to discuss the state's excise policy and incentives for his firm to relocate to Andhra. On its part, Karnataka doesn't seem ready to cede any space to Andhra Pradesh. Replying to Lokesh's post, Karnataka's industries minister M.B. Patil wrote, 'We've built the country's strongest aerospace base over the decades, contributing 65 percent of India's aerospace output and ranking No. 1 nationally, 3rd globally. It isn't about land alone – it's about talent, innovation, and a proven ecosystem.' Dear @naralokesh, Karnataka doesn't just offer land – it offers India's No. 1 aerospace & defence ecosystem. We've built the country's strongest aerospace base over the decades, contributing 65% of India's aerospace output and ranking No. 1 nationally, 3rd globally. It isn't… — M B Patil (@MBPatil) July 16, 2025 Whether he succeeds in attracting investments with this approach or not, Lokesh seems to be following the footsteps of the former minister for IT and industries in Telangana, K.T. Rama Rao. As Hyderabad looked to beat Bengaluru in the tech sector, KTR also frequently jumped on opportunities arising from complaints about policy challenges or infrastructure issues in the Karnataka capital. When fintech Khatabook founder Ravish Naresh criticised the bad condition of roads, power cuts, inadequate water supply and other infrastructure problems in Bengaluru in 2022, KTR was quick to respond on Twitter. 'Pack your bags & move to Hyderabad! We have better physical infrastructure & equally good social infrastructure. Our airport is 1 of the best & getting in & out of city is a breeze More importantly our Govt's focus is on 3 i Mantra; innovation, infrastructure & inclusive growth,' he wrote on the micro-blogging platform. Apart from such social media invitations, KTR also aggressively pitched Hyderabad as a better city in terms of infrastructure and investment, drawing frequent comparisons to Bengaluru. 'There is inertia in Bengaluru. Come and invest in Hyderabad, which is a dynamic city,' he urged NRI entrepreneurs while addressing an Indian diaspora meeting at San Jose in 2022, while on tour in the US, scouting for investments in Telangana. Adding, 'Quality of infrastructure is twice as good in Hyderabad while cost of living is low, compared to Bengaluru.' (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also Read: 'CEO CM' 2.0 takes stage with Amaravati as theme. Quantum Valley is Chandrababu's next centrepiece
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
KTR warns Revanth of legal action
Hyderabad BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao demanded an apology from Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for the allegations levelled against him with defamatory content and damaging his reputation with false claims. In response to Mr. Revanth Reddy's claims that KTR sailed with those involved in drugs, referring to the death of one Kedar in Dubai recently, Mr. Rama Rao warned that he would not tolerate this anymore. The 'filth' that the CM spews in informal media interaction has crossed limits and Mr. Reddy should be ready to face legal consequences, he said in a post on 'X'. KTR asked whether the CM had any iota of proof or if there was any case registered for investigation. 'The character assassination coming through informal media meets is a direct reflection of CM's inability to confront me directly,' he said. The CM will have to pay for the slanderous comments, he said.
The Hindu
06-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
KTR faults govt. for not providing timely supply of inputs to ryots
HYDERABAD Working president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) K.T. Rama Rao alleged that the Congress government in the State is unable to provide key inputs in time to the farmers' community even if they plan to take up Kharif cultivation by borrowing money for investment expenses, after many of them being denied Rythu Bharosa and farm loan waiver. In a statement, Mr. Rama Rao said on Sunday that the government was not in a position to give even a bag of urea to each farmer in need, despite giving their Aadhaar card copies as being sought by the fertilizer sellers. It was the responsibility of the government to explain to the farming community why there was a shortage of 1.94 lakh tonnes of urea so far this season. He sought to know why the farmers were being forced to shell out ₹325 per bag of urea against its actual price of ₹266.5 and who was behind the black marketing of the fertilizer to encash the scarcity. He demanded that an inquiry be made into the artificial scarcity of fertilizers and those making money by inflating the price. Another former Minister K. Eshwar separately said middlemen were fleecing farmers on urea by collecting higher price than the one fixed by the government. He requested the government to ensure timely and required quantity supply of the fertilizer essential for cultivation of all crops.
