Hyderabad, Jul 17 (IANS): Telangana's opposition parties on Sunday slammed Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for his remarks that there is a foreign conspiracy behind heavy rains and floods in the state.
Reacting strongly to the Chief Minister's remarks made earlier in the day during a visit to the flood-hit Bhadrachalam town, leaders of BJP and Congress termed it ridiculous and immature
BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar described the remark as the biggest joke of the century.
The BJP leader said when the Chief Minister visits a flood-affected area, he is expected to give an assurance to the victims but KCR's comments appeared like that of a joker, adding that he has lost his mind and needs to be admitted to a mental hospital for better treatment.
During his visit to Bhadrachalam, KCR, as the Chief Minister is known popularly, expressed the doubt that there could be foreign conspiracy behind the floods in Godavari river. "It is said that other countries are causing cloud bursts in India. This happened in the past in Kashmir and Uttarakhand," he said.
Sanjay alleged that KCR was enacting another drama in the name of foreign conspiracy to cover up failures of the government. "The Chief Minister is not even in a position to pay salaries to the government employees but he is trying to internationalise the issue of rains by calling it a foreign conspiracy," he said.
The BJP leader said Godavari had seen floods in the past and it may come again in future but for KCR, heavy rains seem like man-made calamity. He said it was hoped that the Chief Minister, during his visit, would assess the damage caused by rains and floods and announce help to the victims.
Sanjay said KCR boasts of being an engineering expert but the Kaleshwaram project pump house designed by him was submerged. He also alleged that ponds and lakes under Mission Kakatiya breached as the government neglected construction of embankment.
Congress MP Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the Chief Minister made immature and illogical comments to divert public attention from failures in handling floods and from submergence of projects.
"This is totally a silly, immature and unscientific comment by an irresponsible CM. Trying to divert public attention from failures in flood relief and submergence of an ill-conceived project," said Reddy.