Fact Check: Gutta Sukender Reddy says Telangana has no poor people? No, here’s the truth

Hyderabad: The Winter Session of the Telangana Assembly resumed on December 16, during which Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy announced that new white ration cards would be issued after the Sankranti festival. The minister clarified that efforts were underway to issue ration cards to every Below Poverty Line (BPL) family in the State and that 10 lakh applicants out of 18 lakh new applications would receive cards in January.

Amid these developments, a video clip of Telangana Legislative Council chairman Gutta Sukender Reddy has gone viral on social media. The video purportedly has him saying, “ As per the stats, the per capita income is 3.7 lakhs showed special Commissioner, then where is the poverty in Telangana? Where are all the rice going?”

An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the video with the caption: “Ration cards are not being distributed because there are no poor people.” (Archive)

Similar posts can be seen here and here. ( Archive, Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The clip was a part of the Telangana Legislative Council chairman’s suggestion to the government about identifying the real beneficiaries of ration cards.

Through a keyword search, we found the complete video of the Telangana Legislative Council session, streamed live by ETV Telangana.

In the video, during the Question Hour, members of the council, including MLC Alugubelli Narsi Reddy, raised questions about the distribution of ration cards. Narsi Reddy asked, “The minister said there are 2.81 crore beneficiaries currently, with an additional 40 lakh beneficiaries to be added, making it over 3.2 crore. Does this mean 80 per cent of Telangana’s population is poor?”

In response, Gutta Sukender Reddy offered his opinion, visible from 41:30 to 42:30 minutes in the video. The viral clip has also been taken from the same section.

He said: “I have sent my suggestions for new ration card guidelines. What is the Nation's BPL percentage? I heard it is 27 per cent. As per the stats, the per capita income is 3.7 lakhs. Where is the poverty in Telangana? Where is all the rice going? Is it going to Kakinada Port (sarcastic comment)? I suggest you compare the BPL data for the nation and Telangana and identify those who genuinely need ration cards. Consider all this while preparing guidelines.”

This showed that the remarks made by Gutta Sukhendar Reddy were a part of his suggestion to the government to develop proper guidelines to identify real beneficiaries of ration cards.

Even when Civil Supplies minister Uttam Kumar Reddy humorously commented, “If the council decides to reduce ration cards, we are ready to do it,” the chairman clarified: No, no, I am not suggesting reducing ration cards. We must have accurate statistics and be responsible to the people.

Therefore, the viral claim that Gutta Sukhendar Reddy said there are no poor people in Telangana is false.