Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday hit out at the opposition Congress, saying if the party comes to power in the state, the middleman era will begin in government offices.
Assembly elections in Telangana are set to be held before the end of the year.
Speaking at a public rally in Suryapet, about 140 km from Hyderabad, Rao said that the Congress Party has said it will abolish the Dharani portal (integrated land records system). "The move will bring back middlemen into the system… If the Congress comes into power, there will be middlemen at the revenue office and registration offices," he warned.
KCR claimed that land records in the Dharani Portal cannot be tampered with, and even the chief minister or chief secretary does not have the power to change the records -- only farmers do.
According to him, it is because of Dharani that some of the government schemes are being implemented effectively.
Further targeting the Congress over its promise to pay Rs 4,000 as social pension if elected to power in the state, KCR asked why such a scheme was not being implemented in the states ruled by the party.
"The Congress, which has ruled for 50 years, used to give only Rs 200 as social pension. Now they say, 'give us a chance, we will make it Rs 4000'", KCR said.
"Are they giving it in Chhattisgarh which is being ruled by them? Are they giving it in Karnataka? Are they giving it in Rajasthan? Is there a separate policy for each state."
Speaking about governance in his state, Rao said despite the loss of revenue faced by Telangana due to the Covid-19 pandemic and also the 'note ban by Prime Minister Narendra Modi' in 2016, the BRS government has successfully waived farm loans to the tune of Rs 37,000 crore.
Taking a dig at the Congress and hinting at poor governance by it, Rao alleged that Bangalore city in neighbouring Karnataka has been facing power cuts ever since the party assumed power in that state.
He said the BJP and Congress are asking the Telangana people to give them a chance. "But they could not do anything despite being given several chances in the last 50 years," he alleged.
Exuding confidence that the BRS party would win five or six more seats than last time in the upcoming assembly election, he highlighted the developments of the state and said the growth momentum reached by Telangana should be maintained for another seven or eight years without any disruption.
Speaking of helping farmers become the 'pride of the nation', he said the state had achieved the distinction of producing three crore tonnes of paddy, surpassing Punjab.
KCR said the state government is selling one crore tonnes of paddy in the open market in spite of incurring Rs 1,000 crore loss.