Telangana weavers to get Rs 600-cr order: CM
CM Revanth Reddy reaffirms commitment to handloom weavers, Padmashali community, and BC empowerment, calls caste census a challenge to PM Modi’s leadership.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said on Sunday that the Congress government would support handloom weavers with an order for 1.3 crore saris worth Rs 600 crore. Elsewhere, the government issued orders approving a Rs 1 lakh loan waiver scheme with a total outlay of Rs 33 crore to individual handloom weavers.
Addressing the All India Padmashali public meeting held, he recalled the services of Konda Laxman Bapuji and Ale Narendra during the initial stages of the Telangana movement. When the UPA government gave a cabinet berth to Narendra, the former chief minister ruined his reputation and damaged the BCs image in Telangana, he said.
"The Congress government in Telangana has conducted a BC caste census and enumerated the number of weaker sections in BCs. The BJP and BRS, which are opposed to the BC caste census, are saying that it is a wrong move,” the Chief Minister said.
“The resolution passed in the Legislative Assembly on caste census will be like the Damocles sword hanging on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's head. A conspiracy is being hatched to trample on the rights of the weaker sections by the BJP and BRS, who also conspired to suppress BCs’ voice with their utterances against the caste census," Reddy said.
He said that the data collected during the BRS regime had revealed that the upper castes constituted 21 per cent whereas the caste census conducted by the Congress government disclosed that it was only 15.28 per cent.
The Chief Minister, meanwhile, promised top priority for the Padmashali community and weaver sections by way of benefits.
Almost immediately, the government issued orders approving a loan waiver scheme with a total outlay of Rs 33 crore to individual handloom weavers with a ceiling of Rs 1 lakh each for outstanding loans from April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2024.
Reddy stated that Padmashalis play a key role in elections not only in Telangana and across all states. The government would extend Rs 1 crore in financial assistance to build a Markandeya Bhavan in Solapur to maintain the self-respect of Padmashalis.
