KCR hails BRS era as Telangana’s Golden Age, Villagers decry Congress decline

Former Telangana chief minister and BRS supremo K. Chandrashekhar Rao described the decade-long BRS rule as the golden era of rural transformation, citing uninterrupted power, irrigation, and welfare schemes.

Hyderabad: Invoking memories of uninterrupted power, assured irrigation, and village-centric reforms, former chief minister of Telangana and BRS Supremo, K. Chandrashekhar Rao declared that the decade-long BRS rule was the golden era of Telangana’s rural transformation.

He urged the newly elected sarpanches to embrace self-reliance and community-driven development while villagers lamented a decline in services under Congress governance.

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K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Friday asserted that the decade-long BRS rule (2014–2023) transformed every village in the new state into self-sufficient, self-governed rural economic hubs that became a national model.

He said his “philosophical” administrative reforms as the first Chief Minister of Telangana remain an ideal for the entire country. He interacted with the newly elected sarpanches and ward members of Erravelli and Narsannapet villages (which he had personally adopted during his tenure) in his Gajwel constituency at his residence in Hyderabad.

The leaders, including Erravelli sarpanch Naranari Kavitha and her husband Rammohan Reddy, deputy sarpanch Edma Sabitha and her spouse Karunakar, and Narsannapet sarpanch Gilaka Bala Narsaiah, met Chandrashekhar Rao to seek his blessings after their election victory. He welcomed them warmly, honoured the sarpanches with shawls, distributed sweets, and personally greeted villagers by name, inquiring about crops, irrigation, electricity, and basic amenities.

Villagers expressed deep anguish over what they described as a sharp decline in rural conditions under the present Congress government. They fondly recalled uninterrupted 24×7 free electricity, assured irrigation water, regular release of funds under Palle Pragathi, timely social security pensions including Asara, and special schemes for Dalit, tribal, BC, and minority women as well as traditional caste-based occupations.

One villager emotionally told K Chandrashekhar Rao “Sir, your tenure was the golden era for our villages. Now we are left to keep lamenting. All communities are suffering. We realise the value of a treasure only after losing it. Your worth is truly understood now. Unless you return, the old glory won’t return to Telangana villages. Sir, come back, he pleaded. Even two years of this Congress government have proved to be too hard and too much.”

The remark triggered both laughter and emotions in the room. Responding to them, the BRS Supremo consoled the gathering and said, “Not every season is favourable. Hard times come, but we must not lose heart. Our government will return. Good days will come back to Telangana villages. Until then, people should not lose courage. With the inspiration provided by the previous BRS government, move forward with self-confidence and develop your villages with your own strength.”

He advised the newly elected sarpanches to draw up ambitious development plans, form village committees with people’s participation, and not wait passively for government aid. Citing Gangadevipalli (a model self-help village in his constituency) as an example, Chandrashekhar Rao urged them to make their villages economically and socially self-reliant.

K Chandrashekhar Rao also spoke about global icons of rural transformation, including Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh (founder of Grameen Bank and micro-credit movement) and India’s Anna Hazare, asking the village leaders to take inspiration from them. Former MLC and party leader Sheri Subhash Reddy and other BRS leaders were present on the occasion.