HYDERABAD: Buoyed by the victory of the INDIA bloc (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress) in the recently concluded elections, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka — who was AICC’s senior observer for the polls — on Wednesday said that the graph of the Congress was trending upward while that of the BJP was on a downward spiral in the country.
He said that the recent byelections to the Lok Sabha proved that there was increasing support for Rahul Gandhi. “The people of Jharkhand voted for the Congress (read as INDIA bloc) after deep thought and for saving the Constitution and ensuring social justice,” Vikramarka said, during an informal conversation with reporters at the Secretariat here.
Responding to criticism by the Opposition over the ongoing and promised welfare and developmental schemes, the deputy chief minister listed out the populist schemes that the Congress launched after coming to power. He said that the government has implemented the schemes that could be implemented within a year, adding that more sops were in the offing.
Vikramarka stated that the government has decided, in principle, to lift the rule of the farmer possessing a ration card to avail loan waiver, after a study.
Stating that welfare, development and progressive thinking are the traits of the Congress government, Vikramarka pointed out that the state government has allocated `10,000 crore for the development of Hyderabad and the works such as laying the foundation stones for many infrastructure projects will commence very soon.
He also said that the government will conduct a study on the status of around 26 lakh assigned land allocated to Dalit and Adivasis in the Dharani portal and make efforts to reserve the alienated lands to beneficiaries.
Reacting to BRS working president KT Rama Rao’s remarks targeting a district collector, Vikramarka alleged that the comments showed the former minister’s “feudalistic mindset”. He also alleged that the BRS never believed in democracy or bureaucracy, despite being in power for almost a decade.