KCR to address gathering from 6 to 8 pm; another cabinet meet will be held soon, says deputy CM

Telangana minister and KCR's son KT Rama Rao told reporters that the turnout at the TRS rally will be "something that people will remember for a long time". "It is going to be the biggest political rally ever held in India," he said on the party's "Pragathi Nivedana Sabha" in Ranga Reddy district.

After the Telangana cabinet meeting in Hyderabad ended, state deputy chief minister Kadiyam Srihar said they had briefed the media on the decisions made as per the agenda of the meeting."There will be another cabinet meeting soon to make more decisions."

Telangana cabinet met in Hyderabad amid speculation that the chief minister was planning to dissolve the state Assembly and go for early polls. But the meeting ended without a decision on the matter.

Speculations are rife that Chandrashekar Rao may chair cabinet meeting on 4 September and the decision to dissolve the state Assembly may be taken then.

On Saturday, the Telangana Congress had claimed that K Chandrashekar Rao is going for early elections as a "last ditch" attempt to protect his party from the "rising congress wave."

For all this to happen, the Election Commission of India has to be on the same page as KCR. Elections to three North Indian states are due in November-December, and the issue with Telangana is that the revision of the electoral rolls in the state will be completed only by January. Would it make sense for the Assembly elections to then be held in January, followed by the Lok Sabha polls three months later, resulting in wasteful expenditure of public money?

A documentary on four years of administration of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is being played at the rally venue. Local leaders claim it is the best way to reach the masses.

The TRS believes that if it tackles the Assembly and parliamentary elections separately, the party will be in a better position politically. This is because KCR will be able to convert the Assembly elections into a presidential contest where the attention is focused entirely on him. Also, if he wins the Assembly polls, the Telangana chief minister can use that momentum to position himself as one of the leaders in the reckoning for the top job at the head of a "Third Front", if both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress are not in a position to form the government at the Centre.

Large number of TRS supporters have turned up for the rally. The venue becoming getting jam packed.

Deputy chief minister Kadiyam Srihar said that another Cabinet meeting will be held "soon" and "key decision" will be taken. With this, the suspense about whether the dissolution of Assembly will take place or not continues.

Following the Cabinet meeting, TRS leaders Etela Rajender and Harish Rao announced the new measures taken during the meet, but made no announcement about whether the state will opt for early Assembly polls or not. Here are the new sops: 

1. Telangana cabinet ratifies earlier decision to enhance archakas retirement age to 65 years.

2. Hike in salaries for contract doctors from Rs 36,000 to Rs 40,000 per month.   

3.  Honorarium hike for ASHA workers from Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,500. 

4. Cabinet approves allotment of five more acres



for Reddy Hostel in Hyderabad 

5. Honorarium for Gopal Mitras hiked from Rs 3,500 to Rs 8,500. 

6. Govt sanctions Rs 70 crore and 70 acres for construction of 'self-respect' buildings for different castes

7. 71 acres of land allotted to 50 percent of backward classes communities. 

8. Another five acres of land allotted to Reddy's Hostel building

9. Salaries hiked for 9,000 employees in Health department.

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao who is closely monitoring all arrangements at the Pragathi Nivedana Sabha said the programme would set a new benchmark for massive political parties meeting in the State.

Speaking to media persons at the venue, Rao said the people of Telangana, who have benefited through different welfare programmes and schemes of the TRS government, are arriving at the venue voluntarily as a thanksgiving gesture. With the buzz of early elections reverberating across the state, the minister said the TRS was prepared to face elections at any time.

Dismissing the Congress Party’s allegations over misuse of public money and official machinery, the minister said the Congress was involving in mudslinging as it was unable to digest the increasing popularity of the TRS among the people.

TRS. If the Opposition really is in such bad shape in the state, then is there a need to organise such a show of political muscle?

From KCR's point of view, the answer is yes. And this is because KCR is looking as much at Hyderabad as he is at New Delhi. With this massive rally, the TRS intends to make the Opposition Congress feel dwarfed in comparison to the "Baahubalisque" KCR. The party also aims to make people 1,500 kilometres away in North India sit up and take note of the optics of the mass mobilisation.

It has begun raining again at the rally venue. People are covering their heads with newspapers due to the rain. The chairs are soaked up and there is water everywhere at the venue. Rain has been playing a spoilsport since Saturday evening. Overnight showers had left the venue partly battered with hoardings and cutouts fallen to on the ground. 

Sunday's TRS rally is billed as the "mother of all rallies". Titled "Pragati Nivedana", the meeting to be held at Kongara Kalan at Ibrahimpatnam on the city outskirts is expected to attract 25 lakh people. The venue looked like a sea of pink, with pink billboards and supporters dressed in the party colours as well. 

The video shows a villager talking about welfare schemes. He said that the villagers are satisfied to vote again for TRS. He also added that he came from Jayshankar Bhupalapally district to attend the rally in Ibrahimpatnam in Ranga Reddy district.

A crucial meeting of the Telangana Cabinet is underway amid talks that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was planning to dissolve the state Assembly to go for early polls. The meeting began at 1 pm at the Pragati Bhavan, official residence of the chief minister.

According to Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders, the Cabinet will take some key decisions and the same will be announced by the party chief later in the day at a public meeting titled "Pragathi Nivedana Sabha", being held on the outskirts of Hyderabad.