HYDERABAD: TPCC president A Revanth Reddy alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who had been ‘ignoring’ the promises made to the SC community all these years, came up with the idea of ‘Dalit Bandhu’ only to win the Huzurabad byelection.

Reacting to the scheme’s launch on Monday, Revanth recounted the ‘unfulfilled’ promises that KCR had made in his election manifesto, including the distribution of three acres of land for SC families. “Whatever KCR said during the launch was a lie. He is trying to hoodwink and save his pink fortress, which stands on pillars of lies,” Revanth said.

Referring to the budgetary allocations made over the past seven years, Revanth alleged that KCR had diverted more than Rs 1 lakh crore earmarked for SC welfare. “The SCs were deprived of their rightful share in the Budget. But for winning a single constituency, KCR is doing all kinds of gimmicks. Now, he has brought his wife Shobamma to the forefront. Up until now, she had stayed away from all this,” he said.

Revanth demanded that the State government immediately call for a monsoon session of the Assembly to discuss important issues, including the resolution on Dalit Bandhu. “We will readily endorse your decision on the scheme, if you officially declare that in the next six months, every Dalit family in the State would get Rs 10 lakh,” he said.

Shabbir Ali demands ‘Minority Bandhu’

Hyderabad: Condemning the TRS government for its failure to spend the funds allocated for the welfare of minorities, former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir said that the per capita expenditure on minorities’ welfare in Telangana was a mere `147 per month. In a press statement issued here on Monday, the Congress leader demanded that the State government start a ‘Minority Bandhu’ scheme, on the lines of Dalit Bandhu, and provide `10 lakh to every poor minority family in the State. He said that the State government was deliberately delaying the release of welfare funds to stall the development of minorities