Hyderabad: Allaying all fears that the state would run short, TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said that there was no dearth of funds for the Dalit Bandhu scheme, and all 17 lakh Dalit families in the state will be covered in the next seven years, till 2028.
Speaking after his re-election as party president at the TRS plenary here, Rao expressed confidence that the TRS will retain power for the third term from 2023 to 2028.
“We still have two years left in this term till December 2023. The TRS will again come to power for a third term till December 2028. We will not only cover all the 17 lakh, Dalit families, till 2028 but also STs, BCs, minorities and the poor among the OCs till then," Rao added.
Dismissing Opposition parties’ criticism that no government could afford to implement Dalit Bandhu, Rao said, "All that it requires is Rs 1.7 lakh crore to extend Dalit Bandhu to all 17 lakh Dalit families in Telangana. Telangana's annual budget size will reach nearly Rs 4.28 lakh crore by 2028 from Rs 2.30 lakh crore now, according to economic experts,” he said.
“The government will spend over Rs 23 lakh crore by 2028 on schemes and projects. Of this, spending Rs 1.7 lakh crore is not a big thing. Moreover, this Rs 1.7 lakh crore spent on Dalit Bandhu will create wealth of Rs 10 lakh crore as Dalits will set up business units and contribute to economic growth and job creation.”
He said people in Andhra Pradesh were asking him to launch the TRS after the Dalit Bandhu scheme was initiated. Rao claimed that people in AP were assuring him that they will ensure victory for TRS in AP if he launches the party.
He said people from five Assembly constituencies in Nanded district of Maharashtra and an MLA from Raichur in Karnataka were demanding that their respective state governments implement the TRS government's welfare schemes or merge their areas with Telangana.
