Eatala Rajender lands in soup over Rythu Bandhu
The former Minister claims he had opposed the scheme for landlords but takes homes Rs 10.24 lakh
Hyderabad: Former Minister Eatala Rajender put his foot in his mouth when be made a feeble attempt to criticise Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao over his decision to implement Rythu Bandhu scheme for all agriculture land owners in the State.
He claimed to have opposed extension of the benefit to big landlords paying taxes, but conveniently skipped the fact that he and his family, certainly not poor by any stretch of imagination, had enjoyed the benefits for three years taking home a whopping Rs 10.24 lakh under the scheme.
Going by government records, Rajender’s family owns around around 64.5 acres in Devaryamjal village of Shamirpet mandal in Medchal Malkajgiri district. While about 13.09 acres are registered in the name of Rajender himself (Pattadar Passbook number T06130 250195), about 43.06 acres are registered in the name of his wife Eatala Jamuna (Pattadar Passbook number T06130 250194) and another 8.35 acres are registered in the name of his son Nithin Reddy (Pattadar Passbook number T06130 250496).
Since the 2018 Yasangi season, Rajender’s family have been beneficiaries of Rythu Bandhu and had availed it till the just-concluded 2020 Yasangi season. The amount was credited into the bank accounts of the three beneficiaries as per procedures for the scheme. While Rajender received Rs 59,900 for 2018 Yasangi season, Jamuna got Rs 1.72 lakh and Nithin Reddy Rs 35,500. After the State government enhanced the Rythu Bandhu amount from Rs 5,000 in 2018 to Rs 6,000 per season in 2020, an amount of Rs 66,125 was availed by Rajender, Rs 2.15 lakh by Jamuna and Rs 44,375 by Nithin Reddy. For reasons unknown, Jamuna did not avail an amount of Rs 2.15 lakh only for Vaanakalam season of 2019.
It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had appealed to landlords who can afford to forego the financial benefit under the scheme to return the amount which then be used for the benefit of farmers on a rainy day. Though several farmers including TRS leaders returned their benefit amount, Rajender failed to respond to Chandrashekhar Rao’s appeal. And for Rajender to now claim that he had opposed extending the benefit to big landlords only exposes his double standards.
“I never crossed the party’s Lakshman Rekha and opposed any welfare schemes. I was only against certain issues like extending the Rythu Bandhu schemes to big landlords, holding hundreds of acres,” he told mediapersons during a press conference at his residence on Friday. By his own admission, Rajender and his family own over 120 acres in the State.
Also read:
Eatela Rajender resigns as MLA, also TRS membership
‘TRS never disrespected Eatala’
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