Congress scrapping welfare schemes, failing on six guarantees, says KTR

BRS working president KT Rama Rao accused the Congress government of failing to implement its six guarantees and scrapping KCR-era welfare schemes. Addressing a roadshow in Banswada, he highlighted delays in pensions, farm assistance and key social welfare programmes

Nizamabad: Launching a scathing attack on the Congress government for failing to fulfil its promises to the people, BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Saturday said that not only the six guarantees, but several welfare programmes implemented during the KCR regime were also being scrapped by the Revanth Reddy government.

Addressing a roadshow in Banswada, he said the monthly pension of Rs. 2,000 had not been paid for the past two months. Nearly 14,000 farmer families were deprived of the Rythu Bima benefit of Rs. 5 lakh each, while 15,000 beneficiaries were yet to receive Kalyana Lakshmi assistance and 30,000 beneficiaries had not been provided KCR Kits.

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The Congress had promised to increase Rythu Bandhu assistance from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000. Forget about offering Rs. 15,000, even the existing Rs. 10,000 assistance had been evaded twice so far, he alleged.

It was already the first week of February, but the Congress government was yet to extend assistance to the farming community. During the BRS rule, the amount used to be deposited by December. Farmers were also struggling to get sufficient urea bags, he said, asking the gathering whether people should vote for the Congress.

Recalling his interaction with a senior citizen while travelling to Banswada, the BRS working president said the elderly person remarked that those receiving Rs. 4,000 per month should vote for the Congress, while those receiving Rs. 2,000 pension should vote for the BRS.

Similarly, those who received one tola gold under the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme should vote for the Congress, while those who received Rs. 1 lakh should vote for the BRS. Women who received monthly assistance of Rs. 2,500 should vote for the Congress, Rama Rao said.

“Revanth Reddy is not a Congress leader as he has openly admitted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is his big brother,” he remarked.

He also came down heavily on BRS turncoat MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy for defecting to the Congress. During the 2023 Assembly elections, Revanth Reddy had campaigned in Banswada to defeat Srinivas Reddy and appealed to people to dig a political grave for him. Despite this, Srinivas Reddy later shifted loyalties to the Congress, Rama Rao said, asking what compelled him to defect at the cost of Banswada’s self-respect.

He recalled that the BRS government had upgraded Banswada from a panchayat to a municipality and taken up development works worth Rs. 10,000 crore over the past 10 years. “Did you get even one project or funds for Banswada’s development?” he asked Srinivas Reddy.

Rama Rao further said Srinivas Reddy claimed to be associated with the BRS. “If that is the case, he should be with me campaigning for the BRS. Where is he? I am told he is campaigning without any party scarf,” he said, asking people to offer a BRS scarf to him.

“If Srinivas Reddy truly believes that Revanth Reddy is delivering good governance, he should resign as MLA and contest the by-election. The people will decide his fate and future,” Rama Rao asserted.