After Modi, now Kharge plays copycat with Telangana schemes

Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are now studying, tweaking and announcing welfare schemes introduced by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi as their own

Hyderabad: The truth is out. Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are now studying, tweaking and announcing welfare schemes introduced by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi as their own, the only way they see to stay afloat on the political arena in Telangana.

If BJP has by now mastered the art of renaming Telangana’s schemes after ‘Modi’fying them, like the BC Bandhu, Rythu Bandhu and Mission Bhagiratha, the Congress have now showed that they are no different, with party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s SC/ST Declaration at Chevella sounding more like a list of BRS schemes, with slight modifications to the quantum of financial assistance, and of course, a new name. There was one difference though, and the BRS latched on to that on Sunday, asking Kharge why the Congress government in his own home State of Karnataka was not implementing any such scheme, or in other Congress-ruled States.

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In stinging counters from multiple sides, BRS leaders, right from T Harish Rao to Koppula Eshwar to Satyavathi Rathod were quick to challenge Kharge to show that the Congress was serious about its list of promises by first implementing the schemes in States where it was in power before trying to entice voters in Telangana.

In many Congress-ruled States, the monthly pension offered was just Rs.1,000 but in Telangana, the party was promising the moon to the pensioners, Harish Rao said, adding that the Congress was eating its own words in Karnataka, where it had made tall promises before the elections and after coming to power, was now struggling to implement them. The BJP too was not far behind in this game of promise and forget, he said, adding that BJP State president Bandi Sanjay, during the GHMC elections, had promised two-wheelers to those who lost their motorbikes in the floods. But the people had got nothing even after years, he said.

Minorities Welfare Minister Koppula Eshwar said the Congress party’s SC / ST declaration was just renaming the BRS government’s welfare programmes and increasing the assistance. The Congress had assured to increase the existing Aasara pension to Rs 4,000 and to offer a financial assistance of Rs 12 lakh to Dalits. This was when the BRS government was already paying Rs 4,016 to the differently abled, while Dalit Bandhu was ensuring Rs 10 lakh non-refundable financial assistance to each Dalit family. The party’s SC/ST declaration was just another ploy to use the communities as vote banks and betray them after the elections, Eshwar said, adding that the Congress was ruling in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. If the party was seriously committed to SC/ ST welfare, the promises should have first been implemented in those States, the Minister said.

“Claiming to be a national party, the Congress comes up with different promises for different States during different elections,” Eshwar said, also pointing out that 18 percent reservation for SCs and 12 percent for STs in government procurement and all contracts and reservation in private educational institutions, private companies receiving government incentives, etc were all rip-offs of existing BRS schemes.

Congress has blocked SC/ST progress: Rathod

Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod said the Congress was hindering the progress of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the country and said the SC/ST declaration was full of false promises.

Challenging Kharge to make a similar declaration for the entire country, Rathod said the Congress was resorting to all tricks to come to power in Telangana, but the people in the State would respond to such false promises in a fitting manner and teach them a strong lesson. Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao was making dedicated efforts towards development of Dalit and Adivasi communities since the formation of the State. The State Assembly had already passed a resolution to enhance reservations for tribals and sent it for the Centre’s approval.

“Around 3,146 tribal hamlets were upgraded into gram panchayats and Podu land pattas were issued to over four lakh tribals. Gurukul schools have been established in every Assembly constituency to ensure access to quality education for tribals, apart from constructing Kumram Bheem and Sewalal buildings in Hyderabad for the tribal community,” she said, urging Dalits and tribals not to fall prey to false promises of the Congress.