hyderabad
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has hit back strongly at the comments of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge that the formation of a separate State of Telangana and Chief Minister’s post for K. Chandrasekhar Rao were alms given by the Congress, asking the party whether Independence given to the country and the Prime Minister’s post for Jawaharlal Nehru were also alms given by the British.
Participating in a roadshow at Narayankhed and Yellareddy on Friday, BRS leader and Minister T. Harish Rao said that far from being alms given by someone, Statehood was achieved through a democratic and non-violent movement by all sections of people. It was a separate State earlier but was forcibly merged with Andhra by the same Congress, he pointed out.
Mr. Harish Rao said it was ironic that Mr. Kharge was speaking about problems in Telangana even as his home State of Karnataka had no proper connecting roads and drinking water supply to many households. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had not visited Karnataka even once to see whether the guarantees made by Congress prior to the Assembly elections were being implemented, and are repeating the same promises here, Mr. Harish Rao alleged.
The constituents of Narayankhed must be well aware of the fate of Congress guarantees in neighbouring Karnataka as many villages of the constituency are bordering Karnataka and many people have relatives across the inter-State border. They know that they will face the same fate if they support the Congress, Mr. Harish Rao said.
Rythu Bandhu dole
He pointed out that the Congress had promised benefits similar to Rythu Bandhu to farmers at ₹15,000 each and said the farming community would be at a loss as they would be getting a fixed amount irrespective of the landholding on the lines of PM Kisan. On the other hand, the financial assistance under Rythu Bandhu was being determined based on the extent of landholding at ₹10,000 per acre now, which would be enhanced to ₹12,000 per acre next year (2024-25 agriculture year) and would be gradually taken to ₹16,000 per acre in five years, Mr. Harish Rao explained.
Mr. Harish Rao asked the large gathering whether they wanted to see themselves become victims of the Congress like in Karnataka. Alleging that the Congress was spreading misinformation on assigned lands, Mr. Harish Rao said the BRS government would transfer the rights completely to beneficiaries after getting voted to power this time. He also appealed to the people to see for themselves the development witnessed in Narayankhed after 2014.
