Kalyana Lakshmi scheme row: BRS to stage protests across Telangana

BRS working president KT Rama Rao has accused the Congress government of conspiring to scrap the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme under the pretext of a High Court verdict. He urged party leaders and cadres to stage protests across the state, warning that any attempt to halt the scheme would invite strong public backlash.

Hyderabad: Charging that the Congress government was hatching a conspiracy to scrap the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme, BRS working president KT Rama Rao called upon party leaders and activists to stage protests across the State on Monday.

He accused the Congress government of deliberately trying to discontinue the scheme under the guise of a High Court verdict. Rama Rao asked party leaders to stage protests at constituency and mandal headquarters to thwart what he called the conspiracy and expose the Congress party’s deceit. He made the remarks during a teleconference with party MLAs, MLCs and others, on Sunday.

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The BRS working president said the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes were not merely welfare programmes but initiatives deeply linked to the self-respect of women from poor families.

BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao launched the schemes on October 2, 2014, shortly after the formation of Telangana. Initially, Rs. 51,000 was offered under the scheme. The amount was later increased to Rs. 1,00,116.

During the BRS tenure, financial assistance of Rs. 13,000 crore was provided to nearly 13 lakh women. The Kalyana Lakshmi scheme was also continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

“The Congress party promised to provide ‘tulam’ gold (10 grams) in addition to Kalyana Lakshmi, but attempts are being made to scrap the scheme,” Rama Rao said.

He charged that beneficiaries were being denied the benefits and made to wait for long periods. In some cases, beneficiaries were forced to make repeated rounds of government offices even after their children had been born, he alleged.

Similarly, the distribution of cheques for applications approved after long delays had also stalled, he said. Rama Rao demanded that the government immediately process all pending eligible applications and release the financial assistance.

“Why did the government fail to file a counter-affidavit despite being granted four extensions? The government pays huge sums to private lawyers to argue cases involving issues like corruption but has acted negligently regarding the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme,” Rama Rao said.

He alleged that the Congress government was determined to completely halt the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes under the guise of the High Court verdict.

He warned that if the schemes were cancelled, the women of Telangana and their families would teach the Congress government a fitting lesson.

Rama Rao asked the BRS cadre to confront Congress leaders in every village and ward and conduct extensive campaigns among the public. He said this would make people question Congress leaders.