KCR fumes at EC, says none can stop his welfare schemes

HYDERABAD: TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao made the best use of the party's plenary held in Hyderabad on Monday to campaign for the TRS in the Huzurabad Assembly by-poll to be held on October 30.

Rao used the occasion to address Huzurabad voters, to instil confidence among Dalits in Huzurabad on the continuation of Dalit Bandhu scheme soon after the bypoll, which was halted by the Election Commission (EC) recently on citing the election code of code rules. He told Huzurabad voters that their constituency would be showcased to the state for the successful implementation of Dalit Bandhu as a pilot project, while attacking the EC for obstructing his public meeting in the bypoll-bound constituency and bordering areas citing Covid norms.

Rao said the poll panel had crossed its limits by objecting to his public meeting and stopping the Dalit Bandhu scheme. He advised the EC to exercise its autonomy and maintain its dignity as a Constitutional institution rather than succumbing to pressures from others.

“It is not right on part of the EC to impose restrictions on my public meeting. Some people even filed cases to stop a public meeting before the Nagarjunasagar bypoll earlier. As a senior politician, a responsible president of a political party and also as Chief Minister of a state, I want to know what could the EC achieve with its decision? More people are listening to my speech in the plenary meeting now through live telecast than those who could have attended the public meeting," Rao said.

He dared the Opposition parties to stop him from holding public meetings, a democratic right in an election process. He lashed out at some leaders for filing cases in the courts to restrain him from holding public meetings and wondered what sort of politicians they were.

The Chief Minister urged Huzurabad voters, especially the Dalit families, not to get disheartened by the EC's decision to stop Dalit Bandhu. He asserted that none including the EC could stop the scheme after November 4 when the model code of conduct ended in the constituency.

"TRS candidate Gellu Srinivas Yadav will win the bypoll with all your blessings. He will resume the scheme as your MLA after November 4 and ensure that all Dalit families in Huzurabad will receive the benefit by November or December-end. Later, MLAs and officials from the remaining 118 Assembly constituencies will visit Huzurabad in 118 buses to study the successful implementation of the scheme as a pilot programme and to replicate the same in their respective constituencies,” he said.

He also announced that he would undertake visits to four more mandals in four Assembly constituencies very soon, which were selected for implementation of Dalit Bandhu as a pilot programme and monitor the progress of the scheme.