Hyderabad : Former minister Harish Rao on Sunday announced that BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) would lead a mass agitation involving lakhs of people against the Congress govt’s alleged neglect of the Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy irrigation projects.
He also asserted that the Palamuru-Rangareddy project was 80% complete during the BRS regime and that completion of the remaining work would enable the utilisation of 60 tmcft of water. BRS legislators would raise issues including the inclusion of agricultural land in the prohibited list under Section 22A, power cuts, the alleged failure of the farm loan waiver scheme, cancellation of Polytechnic GO 97, alleged irregularities in Singareni, the Pay Revision Commission, pending dearness allowances, and shortcomings in the employees’ health scheme, according to him. Harish said the party would fight for 30 lakh students affected by pending fee reimbursement dues and would not hesitate to stall proceedings until the issue was addressed. He alleged that despite completing 1,000 days in office, the Congress govt had failed students, unemployed youth, employees, farmers, women, Dalits, tribals and BCs.
Speaking to reporters after a BRS legislature party meeting chaired by KCR at Erravelli in Siddipet, Harish said the party had decided to launch a direct agitation under KCR’s leadership against the govt’s alleged failure to lift water through the two projects. He said the BRS would strongly demand at the Business Advisory Committee meeting that the assembly and council sessions be held for at least a month to facilitate a comprehensive discussion on public issues. He said people would deliver their verdict on the Congress govt at the appropriate time.
Harish claimed that water was available at Kaleshwaram, but the Congress govt was deliberately not utilising it, causing hardship to farmers. Harish also referred to protests by ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, VRAs and employees near Indira Park, alleging that the govt was focusing on diversionary politics instead of addressing their demands.