Congress govt woos women voters with Indiramma sarees, loans ahead of civic polls

The Congress government in Telangana has resumed distribution of Indiramma sarees and interest-free loans to women in municipalities just days before civic polls. The move, seen as an attempt to woo nearly 40 per cent of the electorate, has drawn sharp criticism from BRS leaders, who accused Congress of misleading voters with false promises.

Sangareddy: The Congress government has once again begun distributing Indiramma sarees to women in municipalities just days ahead of polling.

Focusing on women voters in urban local bodies, the government distributed Indiramma sarees and interest-free loans, apart from extending other benefits. In Andole Jogipet municipality, Health Minister Damodara Rajanarasimha distributed 6,584 sarees to women and handed over interest-free loans worth Rs 74 lakh. He also stated that plans were underway to allot plots to poor homeless women by developing a housing venture on the outskirts of Andole Jogipet town shortly.

---

Interestingly, the civic body has a voter strength of barely 20,000, indicating that the Congress government has already attempted to influence nearly 40 per cent of the electorate through government schemes.

Meanwhile, Siddipet Collector K Hymavathi distributed Indiramma sarees to women in Gajwel, Dubbak and other municipalities on the same day, apart from disbursing interest-free loans. Similarly, elected representatives and officials distributed sarees and interest-free loans across municipalities in the erstwhile Medak district.

After discontinuing the traditional distribution of sarees to women during Bathukamma and Ramadan festivals, the Congress adopted a similar tactic during the gram panchayat elections. At that time, the distribution was restricted to villages in a bid to influence rural voters. However, the Congress failed to get the desired results in the panchayat polls.

Sangareddy MLA Chintha Prabhakar said the people of Telangana had already realised how they were cheated by the Congress through false promises. The BRS legislator called upon voters to teach the Congress a lesson in the forthcoming civic body elections.