Khammam: BRS, Left parties demand transparency in Indiramma house selection

BRS and Left parties staged a protest in Khammam, demanding transparent selection of Indiramma house beneficiaries. They alleged arbitrary selection and corruption, sought the dissolution of Indiramma Committees and urged priority for vulnerable families, including widows and persons with disabilities.

Khammam: The district BRS unit, in collaboration with Left parties, took to the streets here on Thursday, demanding justice for eligible, impoverished families in the allocation of Indiramma houses and protection of the rights of elected representatives in local bodies.

A massive rally was taken out to the district Collectorate, where a dharna was staged in support of the demands. BRS MLC Tata Madhusudhan, former MLAs Sandra Venkata Veeraiah, Banoth Chandravathi and Kandala Upender Reddy, former ZP chairman Lingala Kamal Raju, CPI(M) leader Nunna Nageswara Rao, CPI leaders Dandi Suresh and Bhagam Hemanth Rao, CPI(ML) Mass Line leader CY Pullaiah, CPI(ML) New Democracy leader Bandaru Ilaiah and others took part in the protest.

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Speaking on the occasion, Madhusudhan stated that during the BRS administration, beneficiaries of welfare schemes were selected transparently through resolutions passed in gram sabhas.

But now, beneficiaries were being selected arbitrarily without any gram sabha resolution. Under the guise of Indiramma Committees, the interests of ruling party leaders and their cadres were being served.

The Indiramma Committees were undermining the local governance system and trampling upon the rights of elected sarpanches and ward members. Ruling party leaders were engaging in rampant corruption and collecting money during beneficiary selection, the leaders alleged.

The protesting leaders demanded that Indiramma houses be allocated transparently through a lottery-based system. The Indiramma Committees comprising Congress leaders must be dissolved, and the list of beneficiaries provided by sarpanches should be finalised.

Priority must be given to widows, persons with disabilities and families left homeless due to fire accidents and natural calamities, they added. A delegation of the leaders later submitted a memorandum containing their demands to district Collector Divakara TS.

The leaders noted that the struggle for justice for the poor would continue in a democratic manner. This joint effort with Left parties against the ruling party’s anti-people policies marked the beginning of a broader campaign to address public grievances, they added.