Congress Pats Revanth, Flags SIR Threat In Telangana
The meeting noted that the Congress government, which assumed office in December 2023, had completed 31 months in July and crossed the halfway mark of its five year term on June 7.
Hyderabad:The Congress high command has appreciated the performance of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy led government in Telangana and praised the State as one of the strongest in the country in terms of the party’s organisational strength. The performance of the government, the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and organisational affairs of the party in Telangana were reviewed at a meeting held at Indira Bhavan, the Congress headquarters in Delhi, on Monday.
AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal reviewed the issues in the presence of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, TPCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud and AICC Telangana in charge Meenakshi Natarajan. The meeting noted that the Congress government, which assumed office in December 2023, had completed 31 months in July and crossed the halfway mark of its five year term on June 7. Party sources said the AICC appreciated the implementation of various welfare schemes and the government’s performance, with several programmes benefiting lakhs of people every day and every month.
The Mahalakshmi scheme, under which more than 30 lakh women avail free bus travel daily, the Gruha Jyothi scheme providing free power up to 200 units to more than 50 lakh households monthly, and the free supply of fine rice benefiting 3.39 crore people every month were among the welfare initiatives that received special mention. The AICC also appreciated the Indiramma housing scheme, under which more than seven lakh houses are being constructed for poor and middle class families across the State.
However, the high command expressed concern over the ongoing SIR exercise and directed party leaders, workers and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to remain vigilant and ensure that no eligible voter loses the right to vote. With only about a week left for completion of the enumeration phase, nearly 31 lakh forms across Telangana have been categorised as “uncollectable” after 74.38 per cent of the total enumeration forms were digitised. In Hyderabad alone, around 4.21 lakh forms have been categorised as uncollectible, with digitisation standing at just over 50 per cent.
The uncollectable forms are classified under the ASDDF criteria—Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Foreign—and are liable to be marked for deletion from the electoral rolls. The AICC stressed the need for intensified efforts to ensure that genuine and eligible voters, particularly poor people, do not lose their votes during the SIR process. Party leaders acknowledged slackness in the campaign and called for intensified work at the grassroots level.
The high command also conducted a detailed review of organisational affairs, including appointments from the booth level to the State level, the performance of District Congress Committees and the functioning of mandal Congress presidents. Party sources said the AICC was satisfied with the manner in which programmes assigned by the central leadership were being implemented in Telangana. Venugopal reportedly appreciated the State unit’s performance and observed that Telangana was among the states where the Congress was organisationally strong.
The meeting decided to conduct a more detailed review of the SIR exercise at the TPCC Coordination Committee meeting to be held in Delhi on Wednesday. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Meenakshi Natarajan and all members of the Coordination Committee are expected to attend. The SIR exercise will be the principal focus, with the leadership directing the party machinery to ensure that every eligible voter retains the right to vote.
The Chief Minister is expected to remain in Delhi until Wednesday to attend the further review meeting. The AICC has asked the state leadership to step up efforts on the SIR issue and ensure that no genuine voter is excluded from the electoral rolls due to procedural or documentation related difficulties.
