The BRS government has spent Rs 12,000 crore for the welfare of minorities since it came to power in Telangana in 2014 as against Rs 1,200 crore spent by the Congress dispensation during its decade-long rule of undivided Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said.

Addressing an ‘Iftar’ party hosted by the state government on Wednesday, Rao said Telangana has made rapid progress under BRS rule.

“Drinking water, and electricity (problems) have been resolved. The issue of unemployment is also being resolved. We are moving ahead but the country is sliding backwards,” he said.

Had the Central government’s performance been on par with that in Telangana, the state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) would have been much higher, the Chief Minister claimed.

“Before the TRS (now BRS) government came, Congress was in power (in undivided Andhra Pradesh) for 10 years. During that time, it spent about Rs 1,200 crore on minorities’ welfare. Since the BRS government was formed, in the last 10 years, this dispensation has spent Rs 12,000 crore. This is an audited figure,” he said.

Rao said the country is going through “strange times”.

“My request to the elderly, the young brothers and thinkers is that Hindustan is ours and we have to protect the country in any circumstances. Minor difficulties crop up. But, if there is cooperation, we will fight till the end. This is a temporary phase. Justice will triumph finally,” he said.

Nobody can change the ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’ (term used for the fusion of Hindu and Muslim cultures in the country), Rao further said.

Telangana ministers, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and tennis star Sania Mirza were among those who attended the Iftar event.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)