HYDERABAD: The TRS, which has primarily been focusing on running the government and improving the conditions in the State for the last seven years, has decided to pay particular attention to the organisational structure of the party as well, said TRS working president KT Rama Rao on Saturday. “We will focus both on the government and the party,” the IT Minister said.
Speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan ahead of the TRS plenary, Rama Rao said that in order to strengthen the party and muster support from the public, the leaders would organise cluster-level meetings with beneficiaries of government schemes.
“We are planning to organise Adabiddalato Aatmeeya Sammelanam with the beneficiaries of Kalyana Lakshmi and Rytulato Aatmeeya Sammalenam with the farmers of the State,” the Minister said. He said around 63 lakh farmers were availing Rythu Bandhu benefits and that `8,000 crore was disbursed under the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme.
Rama Rao pointed out that around 75 to 80 per cent of the population in the State had benefitted from one government scheme or the other. “Even the Central government is drawing inspiration from Telangana to implement similar schemes across the country,” he said.
The TRS working president said that the separate Telangana journey began with some critics expressing doubts whether a separate State was viable or not. “But in the last seven years, we have done exceedingly well. The per capita income has doubled. The population of Telangana with respect to the country is 2.5 per cent, but its contribution to the country’s GDP is 5 per cent. We are punching above our weight,” Rama Rao said. Telangana’s villages and towns are far better than those of Gujarat, he added.
Speaking to reporters after inspecting plenary arrangements at Hitex, Rama Rao alleged that “Godses” had infiltrated Gandhi Bhavan. He pointed out that former Chief Minister of Punjab Amarinder Singh had alleged that the Congress leadership was according top priority to those leaders, who are having links with the RSS.
OPPN CONFUSING VOTERS WITH SYMBOLS: KTR
The Minister alleged that the Opposition leaders had paid a few Independent candidates to file papers in Huzurabad. “It is all a ploy. They want Independents to pick any symbol akin to TRS’ car symbol,” Rama Rao alleged. He recalled that in the 2018 Assembly elections, the TRS had lost in Nakrekal, where an Independent with truck symbol had got 13,000 votes. “Likewise, in Asifabad, TRS lost by 180 votes, because of a roti maker symbol. In Dubbaka too, TRS lost by around 1,000 votes due to the same roti maker symbol, which got 3,400 votes,” he said
REDUCTION OF VAT
When asked whether the State would reduce VAT on petrol and diesel, Rama Rao wondered whether the government should decrease taxes when the Modi government was increasing the prices. “When domestic gas refill price hiked during the UPA government, Modi wanted people to cast their votes after saluting the gas cylinder. We are telling the voters now what Modi had told them in the past,” he said
NATIONAL POLITICS
When asked about the role of TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao in national politics, Rama Rao said that there would be time and place for everything. “We had proposed a Federal Front in the past. But the blind hatred against a national party should not be the basis for regional parties to unite. The TRS may oppose one national party in the state. Some other regional party in other States may oppose another national party,” he said
‘KCR WILL BE CM’
Rama Rao said that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was all set to be elected as the TRS party president again on Monday. The next Assembly elections would be held under the leadership of KCR and he would become Chief Minister again, he said