Big drop in poverty rate is the making of KCR, says Harish

The steep decline in the multi-dimensional poverty index from 13.18 per cent to 3.76 per cent is a befitting answer to the canards being spread in the name of white paper on the State finances.

Hyderabad: Crediting the big drop in the poverty rate in the State solely to the multiple initiatives taken by the former Chief Minister, K Chandrashekhar Rao in the State during the past ten years, BRS MLA and former Minister, T Harish Rao asserted on Wednesday that the steep decline in the multi-dimensional poverty index from 13.18 per cent to 3.76 per cent is a befitting answer to the canards being spread in the name of white paper on the State finances.

Addressing the largely attended preparatory meeting of the Nagarkurnool Lok Sabha constituency for the ensuing parliamentary polls, he pointed that the NITI Aayog had been heaping praising on the State for its growth story in its reports. He said the former Chief Minister, as part of his purist of prosperity and development in the State, had reached out to the people with several poverty alleviation schemes and they paid rich dividends in reducing poverty rate to 3.76 per cent as against nine per cent that prevailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own Gujarat. Only the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala were ahead of Telangana on this count. What message does the Chief Minister’s team wanted to convey to the investors in Davos after trying to project a poor picture of the State, he questioned.

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Referring to incidents of Congress sponsored violence in different places in the aftermath of the assembly elections, he said any sort of provocation abetting political violence and murders would be counter- productive for the State. He said the BRS cadres were waiting with patience for the Congress rule in the State to complete at least its first 100 days. They would tear apart the government for its failure to fulfill every promise it had made so far to the people.

Though the party had barely completed 45 days after declaration of the election results, the BRS cadres and functionaries were back into action. The party could complete preparatory meetings for the parliamentary polls in eleven constituencies. Suggestions were received from constituencies in a big way so far. The opinion of the party workers would be given due importance in its formulation of policies and making decisions, he assured.

“Though we all strived a great deal for the development of Telangana, we could not farewell in the assembly elections. But there is no need to be disappointed or discouraged. As the heroes of the statehood moment, we need to fight for fulfilling the aspirations of the people”, he said. In a democracy, there was no need for any strong reason to change the governments. In the era of social media backed propaganda, there need not be any valid reason also for the people to think of a change. Even the Congress Party government in any State lasting for ten years was rare. The Congress government in the State would require over Rs 3.5 lakh crores to fulfill all its guarantees and promises. But the burden on the exchequer to fulfill its commitment would be over and above the State budget of Rs 2.9 lakh crores,” he said.