Harish Rao skeptic over implementation of six guarantees

During the poll campaign, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and other Congress leaders promised to fulfill certain poll promises on December 9 itself. But no action has been initiated, causing distress among the people, said Harish Rao

Hyderabad: Amid speculations over the Lok Sabha election schedule to be announced before the third week of February, former Minister T Harish Rao expressed doubts over the State government’s intentions to fulfill its six guarantees before the 100-day deadline. He feared that the election code could be used as a pretext to bypass the 100-day mark set by the Congress to implement its guarantees. He demanded for swift policy decisions and also release of guidelines, to dispel public concerns.

In an informal interaction with mediapersons here on Sunday, Harish Rao pointed out public dissatisfaction over the delay in implementation of the promised benefits even under the ongoing schemes, especially those pertaining to farmers including Rythu Bharosa financial assistance and Rs.500 bonus per quintal for paddy crop.

---

Highlighting the key guarantees related to farmer welfare, he criticised the Congress government’s failure to announce bonuses for the Kharif season crops.

“During the poll campaign, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and other Congress leaders promised to fulfill certain poll promises on December 9 itself. But no action has been initiated, causing distress among the people,” he said.

Highlighting the suspicion that the recent white papers on the State finance might be used to sidestep guarantees, Harish Rao stressed the need for transparency in the State government’s actions. He urged the Congress government to address these issues by February 20, noting that the decision to present a Vote-on-Account budget might hinder the full-scale implementation of promises.

The former Minister specifically pointed to promises related to farmer assurances, crop loan waivers, social security pensions, and waiver of electricity bills upto 200 units, which were promised for implementation from December 9 onwards. None of these promises were realised, as promised, he said, calling for immediate decisions on crucial matters like the paddy crop bonus, particularly with the Lok Sabha elections coinciding with the Yasangi crop.

“Unlike the Congress which complained against Rythu Bandhu amount disbursement, the BRS will not approach the Election Commission of India to stop implementation of the people welfare schemes,” he said.

Expressing skepticism about the government’s commitment, Harish Rao urged the formulation of guidelines for the job calendar and called for transparency in reporting the increased Aarogyasri scheme benefits of upto Rs.10 lakh. He also criticised the Congress government’s decision to obtain fresh loans to the tune of Rs.13,000 crore over the next three months, after criticising the previous BRS government for increased debts.

Further, the BRS legislator lambasted Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka for denying to have promised unemployment sops to youth, despite assurances from Congress senior leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi during the election campaign. He warned that guarantees could only be properly implemented with a full-scale budget, emphasising that a Vote-on-Account budget could lead to cuts in allocations to various sectors.

He strongly condemned the violation of protocol in the State government programmes and the reported disrespect shown to the elected BRS MLAs, while giving prominence to the defeated Congress candidates in official meetings. He reminded the government of its commitment to treat all MLAs equally.