Deccan Chronicle

KCR INDUCTS BJP HUZURABAD LEADER INTO TRS

- DC CORRESPOND­ENT HYDERABAD, JULY 30

Chief Minister K. Chandrashe­kar Rao on Friday said Opposition parties in Telangana were gripped by fear of Dalita Bandhu scheme.

He said the very mention of the scheme was creating tremors among the Opposition parties and their leaders were scared as if someone had dropped a bomb on them.

The CM stated no one could stop Dalita Bandhu and he would go ahead with the scheme, come what might. He said he would not go back on the scheme even if it required spending `1 lakh crore.

Rao said he had three more new schemes like Dalita Bandhu in his mind and if he implemente­d them, the Opposition parties would lose their identity and vanish from Telangana.

“I fail to understand why the Opposition parties are so much frightened of Dalita Bandhu. Ever since I announced the Dalita Bandhu, Opposition leaders are raising a hue and cry as if someone has dropped a bomb on them. They should realise that Dalita Bandhu is not a new scheme. It was conceived in March 2020 but its implementa­tion was delayed by over a year due to Covid-19 and subsequent financial crisis. Even in this year’s budget in March, we sanctioned `1,000 crore for this scheme. Since we have to make a beginning somewhere, I have decided to launch this scheme in Huzurabad soon,” the Chief Minister stated.

Rao was addressing a meeting at Telangana Bhavan on Friday after formally inducting senior BJP leader from Huzurabad, E. Peddi Reddy into the TRS fold along with his supporters.

“When I said I will provide 24x7 uninterrup­ted power supply to all sectors soon after becoming Chief Minister in 2014, the Opposition parties ridiculed me. When I launched Kaleshwara­m, Mission Bhagiratha, 24x7 free power to agricultur­e, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, Kalyana Lakshmi schemes etc, they again expressed doubts over the implementa­tion. But today, they all are a reality in front of our eyes. They are now talking against Dalita Bandhu in the same manner. But I will successful­ly implement Dalita Bandhu and show them the results,” the Chief Minister said.

He said Dalita Bandhu was the result of six years of his brainstorm­ing sessions with officials and intellectu­als on how to empower Dalits in the state socially and economical­ly and it was not done overnight.

“It requires a lot of money to implement Dalita Bandhu. For this reason, it took time. Today Telangana has reached a stage where it can afford to implement this scheme. Telangana GSDP and per capita income today is double the national average. Telangana is flooded with more and more investment­s and industries. Our agricultur­e production has increased by leaps and bounds and contribute­d 17 per cent to GSDP, the highest in the country. Our state will prosper even more in the coming years. I felt this is the right time to implement Dalita Bandhu,” Rao added.

 ?? —DC ?? TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashe­kar Rao welcomes former minister E. Peddi Reddy into the TRS, in Hyderbad on Friday.
—DC TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashe­kar Rao welcomes former minister E. Peddi Reddy into the TRS, in Hyderbad on Friday.

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