'Telangana is India's Afghanistan, KCR Taliban': YS Sharmila

NEW DELHI: YSRTP chief YS Sharmila on Sunday compared Telangana to Afghanistan and the state's chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to the Taliban.

In a no holds barred attack, Sharmila said, "He (Telangana CM KCR) is a dictator, he is a tyrant, there is no Indian Constitution in Telangana, there is only KCR's Constitution. Telangana is the Afghanistan of India and KCR is its Taliban."

YS Sharmila is the daughter of former Andhra Pradesh CM the late YS Rajsekhar Reddy, and also the sister of incumbent YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

She founded the Hyderabad-headquartered YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) in 2021 to rival Rao's BRS and is looking to wrest power in the Telangana assembly elections due later this year.

She has been engaged in a high-voltage campaign against KCR, accusing the chief minister of an autocratic style of functioning. "There is no Indian constitution in Telangana. There is only the KCR Constitution," she alleged on Sunday.

She alleged that her party workers are being attacked for "exposing KCR's failures and corruption."

On Sunday, Telangana police detained YS Sharmila for allegedly making inappropriate remarks against Mahabubabad MLA and BRS leader Shankar Naik.

Sharmila is currently undertaking the prolonged "Praja Prasthanam Padyatra," that has already covered over 3,000 kilometres within the state. The yatra resumed earlier in February after a two-month break.

In the past two, Sharmila had made personalised attacks at KCR.

Not long ago, she dared the Telangana chief minister to walk at least 3 kilometres alongside her to "learn about the plight of the people," and also held up a pair of shoes to the cameras, saying she would gift it to KCR.

"I’m giving you this brand new pair of walking shoes. This is your size, and there is also a bill to exchange, if it doesn't fit," she had said.

(With agency inputs)

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