CM KCR addresses a first public meeting of the BRS at Medak

Medak: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Wednesday launched a broadside against the Congress and other opposition forces over their ‘irresponsible’ statements to scrap the Dharani portal and to restrict power supply to agricultural connections. 

Hinting that the BRS campaign would hinge on these issues, among others, he also reiterated his government’s priority for welfare by launching an enhanced pension for the differently abled, and also the newly announced pension for beedi tekedars on the occasion.

Stating that the Opposition was conspiring to take a progressive Telangana into the dark ages of yore and in turn, to harass farmers, the Chief Minister emphasized the importance of the Dharani portal which empowered farmers in land transactions. He questioned the intentions of the Congress over scrapping the platform, which ensured that land ownership could be changed only by landowners themselves with their thumb impression.

In the first public meeting of the BRS at Medak after releasing the first list of its candidates for the Assembly elections, Chandrashekhar Rao said the Dharani portal had taken away the power to alter land ownership from officials and placed it directly in the hands of the farmers.

“Should this power remain with farmers or should it be handed back to the authorities?” he asked the massive gathering, receiving a firm ‘No’ as response.

Once again stressing that the Congress spelt danger for the welfare of the people of Telangana, the Chief Minister questioned the opposition’s commitment to the people and reminded the crowd of the decades of Congress rule that pathetically failed to address even basic issues like water and power scarcity.

Comparing what he called ‘the dark ages’ of Telangana to the BRS government’s success in ensuring both irrigation and drinking water as well as uninterrupted power supply, he asked the people to decide whether they wanted these facilities to continue under his leadership or to risk a change under the Opposition, once again eliciting vociferous applause in his support from the crowd.

Criticizing the Congress for its inefficiency to address



farmers’ grievances, Chandrashekhar Rao pointed out that while the families of deceased farmers never received complete compensation of Rs.50,000 under the Apathbandhu scheme during the Congress regime. Now, an insurance amount of Rs.5 lakh was being directly deposited into the bank accounts under the BRS government’s Rythu Bima scheme. He stated that the State government could implement Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima and also pay paddy procurement amount into the farmers’ bank accounts, due to the Dharani portal.

Despite challenges posed by the Centre and factors like demonetisation and the COVID-19 pandemic, the State government had fulfilled its commitment and waived off crop loans amounting to Rs.37,000 crore.

Also highlighting Telangana’s transformation into a thriving agricultural hub and emphasizing its achievements in paddy cultivation, the Chief Minister reminded the people that in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, people of Ghanapuram struggled for irrigation and drinking water under the Congress and the TDP regime.

“But after the BRS government was voted to power, we enhanced the height of the Ghanapuram reservoir and repaired the canals providing water to 30,000-40,000 acres of ayacut,” he said, adding that the Singur project, dedicated to supply drinking water to Hyderabad, was diverted to irrigate agricultural fields in Medak district.

“We constructed over 40 checkdams on Haldi and Manjeera in Medak to ensure supply of irrigation water throughout the year. Water is also being released from Kaleshwaram project into Mallanna Sagar reservoir based on the local needs,” he said, assuring farmers that they would witness more wealth over the next five to six years as the BRS would retain power.

Plans were afoot to increase the rice milling capacity in the State to increase agricultural productivity as well, he said, cautioning the people against falling for the enticing yet misleading promises made by Opposition parties during election campaigns. Comparing the Opposition to those seeking alms during harvest time, he stressed on voters making informed decisions based on track records and commitment to development.