Expressing dismay over Narendra Modi’s comments on the bitterness over the formation of Telangana, BRS working president KT Rama Rao said in his attempt to get even with Congress, the prime minister was repeatedly hurting the sentiments of the people of Telangana.

In his speech in Parliament, Modi recounted the days prior to the formation of Telangana when MPs from Andhra Pradesh irrespective of their party affiliation tried to stall the AP Reorganisation Bill in the Lok Sabha to the extent of even using pepper spray on their colleagues and staff.

Taking to micro-blogging site X, Rao said, “To suggest that Telangana did not celebrate its statehood is not only factually incorrect but also comes across as ignorant and arrogant.”

He went on to add that “this is not the first instance where the prime minister made a disparaging remark against Telangana formation and it reflects on his utter disregard for historical facts”.

The BRS leader even imparted a history lesson on the agitation for statehood that lasted for six decades. “The people of Telangana tirelessly fought for six decades to attain statehood, a momentous achievement finally realized on 2 June 2014. The journey to statehood was marked by countless sacrifices, particularly from the youth of Telangana,” wrote the minister.

Prime Minister Modi was perhaps trying to counter the Congress narrative at its rally yesterday at Hyderabad, where former Congress president Sonia Gandhi was repeatedly given the credit for the formation of Telangana. Speaking at the old Parliament, perhaps for the last time on how states were formed, Narendra Modi mentioned the case of Telangana and observed that after the state was created, neither Telangana nor Andhra Pradesh celebrated the occasion, and seeds of bitterness were sown.

KT Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR, offered a word of advice to Modi saying, “It is crucial for political leaders in important positions to approach such sensitive historical matters with empathy and understanding, considering the emotions and sacrifices associated with them.”

Historically speaking, the people of Telangana had rejoiced but those of residual AP were plunged in gloom. The bitterness was mostly due to Hyderabad, the capital which the people of AP claimed grew only because of their investments. Hyderabad, which was deeply entrenched in the geographical territory of Telangana, was to be the common capital for both states, for ten years, but after N Chandrababu Naidu was caught up in the cash-for-vote scam, he shifted the capital to Vijayawada.

Bifurcation of AP almost proved suicidal for the Congress since the party was wiped out in the residual state of Andhra Pradesh while in Telangana, a weak leadership failed to convert the advantage into votes leading to the party’s exit from power at the Centre.