SIDDIPET: With the Dubbaka byelection right around the corner, all major political parties and their stalwart leaders have buckled up for the final set of field-level campaigns.
Ever since the ruling party announced that its candidate for the bypoll is Solipeta Sujatha, wife of former MLA Solipeta Ramalinga Reddy, the party cadre have been working round-theclock to ensure her victory.
Finance Minister T Harish Rao himself has been monitoring TRS’ poll campaign, while leading it from the forefront. Taking some time off from his busy schedule, Harish spoke to The New Indian Express on the bypoll, the party’s strategy, his opinion about the allegations raised by Opposition parties and more...
'People are with us'
When asked who the TRS' main competitor in Dubbaka is, the Finance Minister said that the party does not consider the Congress or the BJP as its opponent. "The Opposition leaders think that there is a 'competition' in Dubbaka, but there really isn’t one. We urge the voters to compare Congress' 70-year-long rule of India and the TRS' six-year-long rule of Telangana. The schemes being implemented by TRS will ensure Sujatha’s victory," Harish said.
"There are 1.90 lakh voters in Dubbaka constituency, among whom at least 1.56 lakh persons have received the benefits of various government schemes. There are about 78,000 farmers here who have been receiving Rs 10,000 per year under Rythu Bandhu. People know that the TRS has been doing all these, while the BJP government has been implementing new 'anti-farmer' laws. People are with us," he added.
Blasting the saffron party leaders for spreading lies that the Centre is funding the 'KCR Kit' and is providing Rs 1,600 to beedi workers in the State, he challenged State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay, yet again, to prove his allegations.
Slamming the allegations made by Opposition parties that the government is focusing on the development of Siddipet, Gajwel and Sircilla alone, Harish said the situation is different in each constituency.
"It does not mean that we don’t care about Dubbaka. The government is all set to provide irrigation water to 1,30,000 acres of farmland in Dubbaka. While Dubbaka has 25,000 beedi workers, Siddipet has just 5,000. How can they say that we give Aasara pensions to only 5,000 beedi workers in Siddipet while giving the same to 25,000 people in Dubbaka? It is as per the list of beneficiaries created by the officials that we give pensions. Sangareddy and Patancheru constituencies don’t have even a single beedi worker. Does that mean we are neglecting these constituencies? Can we give the pension amount to random people," he asked. The government has also set up 18 new substations spending Rs 101 crore. Our roads are being developed at a cost of Rs 350 crore, he mentioned.
All promises will be fulfilled
When asked if the TRS had actually, as alleged by TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy, forgotten a few of its poll promises like loan waiver, stipend to the unemployed and more job opportunities, Harish said that the government will fulfil all its poll promises.
"We assured the farmers that crop loans would be waived off in four phases. We have already waived off crop loans up to Rs 25,000. Aasara pensions have been increased to Rs 2,016. Though the State is facing financial crisis due to COVID-induced lockdown, the government didn't stop any welfare scheme. We rather increased the Rythu Bandhu amount to Rs 5,000 per acre. We promised one lakh jobs and gave employment to 1,24,990 persons," he said and asked how any of this can be labelled as the 'negligence of poll promises'.
Referring to the incident that happened at Lecturer’s Colony on Monday, Harish said that the raids were conducted as per norms. "The poll code is in force. The searches were carried out based on plaints received by the police. Even my car was frisked four times recently. I cooperated with the cops as it was their duty to do so," he said.
"They conducted raids at the houses of TRS leaders too. However, when they raided the house of S Anjan Rao, they recovered Rs 18.67 lakh. By the way, it’s their headache. Not ours. I request the cadre to lookout for provocations and not to fall prey to such things," Rao added.
Elaborating on TRS' poll strategy in Dubbaka, Harish said that they are focused on meeting all voters in person. "We have already finished campaigning in 130 of the total 140 villages in Dubbaka. The response our campaigns get from people is amazing. Solipeta Sujatha will undoubtedly win with a margin of over one lakh votes," Harish said.