HYDERABAD: As many as 28,123 voters have decided not to exercise their franchise in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections after they allege that both the State and the Central governments failed to address their issues. These voters are the slum dwellers settled on land parcels owned by the Central government under the Secunderabad Assembly constituency whose slums were not regularised. Accusing the State for not paying heed to their long-standing demands of exchange of lands from the Central government and failing to set up basic facilities, these voters will boycott the ensuing Lok Sabha polls on April 11 by staying from casting their vote.
The sulking 28,123 voters are feeling cheated by the State government and feel that they are being used as voting machines who is not coming forward to solve their long-pending issues with the Centre. It may be noted that the Supreme Court recently issued orders to remove all those living in houses constructed illegally on lands owned by the Central government in the Cantonment Assembly constituency, from the Cantonment Board electoral list but not from the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The State government has already implemented the Apex Court’s orders.
Thousands of families residing in the Secunderabad Cantonment Assembly segment, have been living for decades on these lands. The slum-dwelling voters have alleged that the Telangana government has failed to give them land in exchange of where they are currently residing or relocate them by inclusion into the State’s flagship programme of double bedroom housing with all due property rights.
M Srinivas, a resident of Gunrock, alleged, “In every elections, the State government utilises the slum dwellers to increase their voting percentage.” He recalled how at the time of 2018 Assembly polls, candidates of all parties promised those residing on Centre-owned lands that they will be rehabilitated in the double bedroom flats. “Even after five years, the State has failed to rehabilitate us. Since they could not even be bothered about us slum dwellers, we decided to boycott the Lok Sabha elections.”
Srinivas further alleged that although the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has made statements during poll campaigns that he is aware of the struggles of those living on Centre-owned lands, and has still failed to resolve the concomitant issues of thousands of families in the last five years of him being in power.