Former Minister and senior leader of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) T. Harish Rao has asked the party ranks and leaders to set aside the differences among them and spur debate among people on the failures of the Congress Government, particularly its unkept promises, to win the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at an election preparatory meeting at Papannapet in the Medak Lok Sabha Constituency on Friday, he said extension of support to the party candidate P. Venkatrami Reddy in the Parliamentary election would bring them more progress and development as he had clear understanding on the problems and issues of the constituency by virtue of working in the area for 11 years.
It was the previous BRS Government that brought government medical college and rail link to Medak. The previous Government led by K. Chandrasekhar Rao had also sanctioned funds for the development Edupayala temple but the Congress Government had withdrawn all those sanctions. It was unfortunate that the Congress was not implementing even the promises made by its leaders on promissory notes (non-judicial stamp papers), he said.
People had voted the Congress in good faith but the Congress Government had deceived them squarely, said Mr. Rao adding that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had asked the farming community during the Assembly election campign to borrow fresh loans up to ₹2 lakh from banks as the Congress government would implement the loan waiver on December 9 last itself.
Believing in the Congress word, several farmers had either borrowed fresh loans or did not repay their outstanding loans with the hope that their debt would be written off. However, it did not happen and the banks were sending notices to farmers and harassing them by visiting villages, he said. Similarly, Mr. Reddy had promised to offer ₹500 per quintal bonus to paddy and other crops but it was not even being extended to the Yasangi produce.
Mr. Rao pointed out that the first priority of the previous BRS rule was farmers and they were the last priority in the Congress rule now. Lack of water for irrigation and the resultant withering of crops in lakhs of acres, in spite of the Government having an opportunity to protect the crops by lifting Godavari water was a proof of it.
The Congress had also belied its promises of enhanced Rythu Bharosa at ₹15,000 per acre, enhanced social security pension of 4,000 per month, ₹2,500 per month assistance women aged above 18 years, enhanced kalyana laxmi/shaadi mubarak benefit, ₹4,000 per month unemployment allowance among others, Mr. Rao said.
He also cautioned people against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its candidate M. Raghunandan Rao as had failed to keep many promises made as Dubbak MLA. On the other hand, BRS candidate Mr. VenkatramI Reddy was promising ₹100 crore vidya nidhi for students from poor families, he noted.
