BRS’s sole agenda is to criticise Congress: Vivek

Minister for Mines G. Vivek Venkataswamy at a press conference in Mancherial on Friday. Minister for Mines G. Vivek Venkataswamy accused BRS leaders of making it their sole agenda to criticise the Congress government without realising that they were rejected in successive elections by the people who favoured the Congress.

Speaking to the media in Mancherial on Friday, he alleged that corruption and commission-related allegations during the BRS’s decade-long rule were well-known. He claimed that the Pranahita-Chevella project could have been completed for around ₹20,000 crore, but the Kaleshwaram project had involved an expenditure of about ₹1 lakh crore.

He said that the State is now burdened with around ₹8 lakh crore in debt due to the “corrupt ideas of the BRS”. Mr. Vivek said not just Telangana but the entire country was now looking at the Congress, and the sole aim of every Congress worker was to make Rahul Gandhi the Prime Minister and form a Congress government at the Centre under his leadership.

In line with Rahul Gandhi’s ideals, Mr. Vivek said the government was working to equip youngsters with skills suited to changing technology, including Artificial Intelligence, and create better employment opportunities. He alleged that ITIs and polytechnic colleges were neglected during the BRS regime.

The Congress government had established 65 Advanced Technology Centres across Telangana and would spend ₹800 crore on developing polytechnic colleges, he said. He clarified that lateral entry into engineering for polytechnic students would continue through the ECET examination and that there would be no increase in fees.

Steps were being taken to provide a ₹2,500 stipend to students undergoing training, he said. Mr. Vivek said the old curriculum would continue even after the introduction of the new curriculum, giving students the option of choosing the system they preferred.

The government would also protect the job security, salaries and promotions of lecturers, he assured. Recalling his recent visit to Japan, he said industrial companies there had expressed interest in recruiting engineers and diploma holders.

With appropriate training and skills, Telangana youth could access large numbers of jobs, with specialised professionals potentially earning annual salaries of ₹25 lakh to ₹30 lakh, he said.