Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Monday, 20 November, ridiculed the Congress for promising to replace Dharani — the government’s integrated land record system — with Bhumatha.
Addressing election rallies at Manakonduru, Station Ghanpur, and Nalgonda, the BRS chief asked: “Is it Bhumatha or Bhumetha (encroachment of land)?”
Chandrashekar Rao, better known as KCR, cautioned the people against supporting the Congress, saying it was planning to bring back the days of middlemen.
“The Congress leaders say that they will take down Dharani. They say they will drown Dharani in the Bay of Bengal. They claim that they will bring back village revenue officers (VROs) and that there will be 34 columns and one column will be for tenant farmers. Isn’t this an attempt to create a rift between farmers and tenant farmers?” he asked.
He wondered how the money from the Rythu Bandhu scheme could be credited to the farmers’ bank accounts if Dharani was wound up.
It would mean that the nightmare of running after VROs and agriculture officers and their greasing palms would be back, he said, adding that in short, the VROs’ rule would be back if the Congress took down Dharani.
Also read: Revanth alleges that there is a mafia behind Dharani portal
On land rights
The chief minister urged the farmers to realise that they now had the rights to their land.
“Earlier, officers used to control your lands. Now you have full rights. Even the chief minister cannot change the ownership of lands,” he said.
KCR also warned the farmers that if they supported the Congress, they would not get a round-the-clock power supply to operate their agriculture pump sets.
After promising 20 hours of power supply in Karnataka, the Congress regime there has been supplying only for three hours, he said.
“Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar tried to brag that the power supply [to farmers] was for five hours in his state, not knowing that it is round the clock in Telangana,” the chief minister said.
Related: Congress makes subtle shift to legacy of Indira Gandhi in Telangana
One for auto drivers
A loud applause erupted from the crowd when he spoke about the difficulties of auto-rickshaw drivers in Manakondur.
After asking them if they were auto drivers, the chief minister said he would waive the annual fitness and permit fees of ₹1,200 for plying their vehicles.
Though it would place a burden of ₹100 crore on the state exchequer, he would do it after returning to power once again because it would make the lives of lakhs of auto drivers easy, he said.
At Station Ghanpur, the chief minister promised to waive agricultural loans that were still pending, as might be the case with 4-5 percent of farmers.
“There should be no doubt about waiving the loans of the remaining farmers,” he assured, adding all farmers would be covered under the promised agriculture loan waiver scheme.
The chief minister took a swipe at the Congress for petitioning the Election Commission against completing the farm loan waiver process. “The same people criticise the BRS government for not doing it. They have no sense of shame,” he said.
KCR said that immediately after the elections, he would ensure the inclusion of all employees of the TSRTC on government rolls.
“Though we had passed the Bill in the Assembly, we could not do it immediately as there was a considerable delay in obtaining the Governor’s assent. We will do it first thing after the election,” the chief minister said.
At Nalgonda, the BRS supremo asked the people to vote for K Bhupal Reddy as “he is an honest man and always devoted to helping the people of the constituency”.
Earlier, when he lost one Assembly election, he chose to stay in the constituency and continued serving the people, said KCR.
He asked the people to note how Congress nominee Komatireddy Venkata Reddy had been acting with a huge sense of ego.
“Venkat Reddy has been bragging that he will trample BRS workers. Who do you want as your leader? An arrogant Venkat Reddy or a selfless Bhupal Reddy?” he asked.
అసెంబ్లీ ఎన్నికల ప్రచారంలో భాగంగా నల్లగొండలో జరిగిన ప్రజా ఆశీర్వాద సభలో బీఆర్ఎస్ అధినేత, సీఎం కేసీఆర్ పాల్గొని ప్రసంగించారు.
కాంగ్రెస్ 50 ఏండ్ల హయాంలో తనకంటే దొడ్డుగ, ఎత్తుపొడుగు ఉన్నోళ్లు చాలా మంది ముఖ్యమంత్రులు అయ్యిండ్రని, కానీ ఎవరు కూడా తెలంగాణ ప్రాంతానికి కనీసం మంచి… pic.twitter.com/ioMi0Q5XFA
— BRS Party (@BRSparty) November 20, 2023
