HYDERABAD: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday alleged that the BRS leaders, when they were in power, looted the state like bandits.
Referring to BRS MLC K Kavitha’s recent remarks against her own party leaders, he said: “Even their own family members are now exposing the BRS leaders.”
The deputy CM was addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation for 12 sub-stations at Devarakadra. He emphasised that real democracy is being upheld now with funds being spent on public welfare under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. Efforts are being made to transform Telangana into a globally competitive state, he added.
After laying the stone for 12 sub-stations, he said that the government will fast-track the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme works by releasing required funds.
He also announced that funds for R&R and land acquisition would be released immediately. “The gap between the Narlapur and Edula reservoirs will be filled with necessary funding,” he said and recalled that when `70 crore was needed for the Uddandapur R&R package, the government released them without any hesitation.
Referring to Krishna river water, he said the people of Palamuru region dreamed of utilising these waters, which is why they demanded a separate state. “But during their 10-year rule, the previous rulers couldn’t provide irrigation even to a single acre,” he said.
The deputy CM also said that all major irrigation projects in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district — Jurala, Koilsagar, Bheema, Nettempadu, and Kalwakurthy — were completed by the Congress governments.
“If the previous Congress government had given permission for the Palamuru-Rangareddy project, then in June 2015, KCR laid the foundation at Karivena and promised to complete it in three years. It’s been 10 years... why couldn’t he provide water?” he asked.
Vikramarka hailed the free RTC bus travel scheme for women across the state and wondered why the “financially sound” BRS government failed to implement it earlier.
He said the current people’s government aims to turn one crore women into crorepatis within five years. “As part of this, within the first year of our rule, `21,000 crore interest-free loans have been given to self-help groups.” he said.
“You don’t need to be an MLA to do business or get contracts,” he said and added, “You need to elect MLAs who will raise the people’s voice in the Assembly and protect democratic values. I congratulate the people of Mahbubnagar for electing such representatives.”