Congress protests against Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu disbursals

Under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme, funds for the Vanakalam crop were distributed in June 2023 and disbursement for the Yasangi crop is scheduled to commence next week

Hyderabad: Much to chagrin of beneficiaries of the Rythu Bandhu and Dalit Bandhu schemes in Telangana, the Congress approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) raising objections over disbursements under the schemes, stating while it was not against schemes benefiting farmers and Dalits, it still feared that such disbursements might benefit the BRS in the Assembly elections.

Under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme, funds for the Vanakalam (Kharif) crop were distributed in June 2023 and disbursement for the Yasangi (Rabi) crop is scheduled to commence next week. The Congress contended that such disbursements should have been carried out before the Model Code of Conduct came into force in Telangana, i.e. before the schedule was announced earlier this month.

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In his letter to the Election Commission, AICC Telangana in-charge Manikrao Thakare maintained that the Congress was not questioning the legality of these schemes post the Model Code of Conduct announcement.

Though both the Rythu Bandhu and the Dalit Bandhu are ongoing schemes with no involvement of the elected representatives, the Congress leader argued that disbursements under the Rythu Bandhu scheme should be carried out either before the nomination filing date of November 3 or after the polling date on November 30.

Similarly, Thakare raised concerns about implementation of the Dalit Bandhu scheme which aims to uplift the Dalit community. He feared that the disbursement under the scheme might influence the voters in favour of the ruling BRS and requested the ECI to prevent any unfair electoral impact. “We believe that such electoral manipulation of voters is patently illegal and undemocratic,” he said in the letter.

In a strong reaction, BRS senior leader Dasoju Sravan criticised the Congress for writing a cruel letter to the EC and “shamelessly demonstrating its heartless, anti-farmer and anti-poor stance driven by a capitalist mindset.” He urged the Congress leadership to immediately retract the letter and not put the livelihoods of farmers at risk for the sake of petty politics.

“Elections may come and go, farmers cannot just stop farming and farmers canot be harassed. The welfare and future of our farmers and the underprivileged should never be sacrificed on the altar of selfish political expediency. It’s high time to set aside your divisive and discriminatory politics and protect our farmers,” he said.

Sravan appealed to the people of Telangana to realise the true colours of the Congress party and its leaders, who seem to care not for the farmers, nor the poor, but only for their votes. “Let us teach them a befitting lesson,” he tweeted.