CM Revanth Reddy taking revenge on Sircilla weavers: KTR

Thousands of weaver families were forced onto the roads due to lack of employment following denial of Bathukamma saree orders, he said

Rajanna-Sircilla: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Thursday said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was trying to take revenge on the people of the district, especially weavers, for his own political differences.

Thousands of weaver families were forced onto the roads due to lack of employment following denial of Bathukamma saree orders, Rama Rao said at a press conference in Sircilla. About one crore women in the State are also denied the sarees on the occasion of Bathukamma festival due to the mindless decisions of the Congress government.

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The Chief Minister and his government were not aware of the concept and intentions behind the Bathukamma saree distribution scheme, he said, adding that the Congress could take revenge on him if they had any grudge against him, but should not create misery for weavers.

Pointing out that weaver suicides were common during the Congress regime from 2004 to 2014, he recalled that BRS president K Chandrashekhar Rao, then an MP, had responded to the situation since the then State government was silent and donated Rs.50 lakh to the Padmashali Trust. About 2,000 weaver families were given interest free loans by utilizing Rs.50 lakh.

After coming to power in 2014, Chandrashekhar Rao conducted a meeting with people from Sircilla and sought their opinion for a permanent solution to the issue. All of them sought regular employment. It was towards this that Chandrashekhar Rao decided to distribute Bathukamma sarees to one crore women and instructed weavers to manufacture sarees. Orders worth Rs.3312 crore for Bathukamma sarees were given to Sircilla weavers during the BRS regime, he said.

Congress leaders had promised to provide work for 365 days besides doubling orders. However, nothing was done, he said.