Bhatti to Voters: "Ask BRS Why They Deserve Your Vote After Looting State"

Nalgonda: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday called on urban voters to question BRS leaders on why they should be supported in the ongoing municipal elections. Campaigning in Wyra in support of the Congress and alliance candidate, the Deputy Chief Minister addressed a public meeting near the bus stand, which witnessed a large turnout.

“Why should people vote for the BRS that looted the state for 10 years? Should they vote for those who mortgaged all of us and drowned the state in debts worth ₹8 lakh crore?” he said.

He alleged that during the decade-long BRS rule, no houses or house sites were provided to the poor. He said earlier Congress governments had constructed lakhs of Indiramma houses, visible in villages across the state. After coming to power in Telangana, he said, the Congress government revived the Indiramma Houses scheme and sanctioned 4.5 lakh houses to eligible families in the first phase at a cost of ₹22,500 crore. He said the government was committed to extending the scheme to all eligible families in a phased manner.

Referring to ration cards, he said poor families were forced to make repeated rounds for a decade during the previous regime. He said the Congress government cleared pending applications after assuming office. He stated that 1.02 crore families out of 1.15 crore in the state were being supplied fine rice free of cost through the Public Distribution System.

He said coarse rice supplied earlier was unfit for consumption, while the present government was supplying fine rice worth ₹50 per kg at six kg per person.

Stating that the government would not hesitate to spend on welfare, he said the sector received a major share in the state budget. He listed welfare initiatives including free power up to 200 units for domestic connections, enhancement of treatment limits under the Rajiv Aarogyasri scheme to ₹10 lakh, and free travel for women in TGSRTC buses.

He said the government was promoting women empowerment through entrepreneurship and that ₹27,000 crore in interest-free loans had been disbursed to self-help group women within a year of the Congress coming to power.

Referring to local issues, he said roadside shops in Wyra were demolished five years ago, leaving the town with bare walls. After the issue was brought to his notice, he said approval was accorded for construction of a shopping complex. He also said a 100-bed hospital was under construction in Wyra and funds had been sanctioned for a junior college to strengthen healthcare and education infrastructure.