Telangana: BRS, Congress engage in slugfest after ECI withdraws Rythu Bandhu approval

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Revanth Reddy blamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi minister Harish Rao for ruining the Rythu Bandhu for farmers.

The Election Commission of India withdrew permission to disburse Rythu Bandhu. ECI took cognizance of Harish Rao's statement in a public rally, He had said that the Rythu Bandhu money would be distributed from November 28.

Revanth slams Harish Rao

In a tweet, Revanth Reddy said that it is the greed, eagerness, and pride to get votes from Rythu Bandhu that makes Harish Rao speak like this.

“He has ruined the hope of farmers by violating the model code of conduct. These traitors must be sent home. The farmers need not worry as Rs 15,000 will hit their accounts once the new government is formed,” he said.

Politics over ECI withdrawal

ECI withdrawal is likely to trigger a political slugfest between BRS and Congress, and vice versa. “The BRS is going to blame us for the Rythu Bandhu withdrawal. ECI has cited the reason for its decision. It is mentioned that Harish Rao's statement ‘by a particular time before the poll date leads to disturbing the level playing field in the ongoing election process. The fact is that the KCR family was never serious about the disbursement of Rythu Bandhu,” said Sama Ram Mohan of the Congress party at Gandhi Bhawan.

Kavitha blames Congress

In a statement, MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla blamed Congress for the revocation of approval to disburse the Rythu Bandhu scheme ahead of the elections.

When is Rythu Bandhu distributed?

Ryhtu Bandhu is given to farmers during Kharif and Rabi in July and December respectively.

Kiran Vissa of the Telangana People Joint Action Committee said, “It was a routine scheme which the BRS very cleverly tried to encash on during elections. It was a desperate attempt to garner votes. BRS could have distributed it in December or January. The ECI took a stand for disbursement considering it to be a routine scheme but Harish Rao's statement in the public rally depicted it as an attempt to garner votes. The withdrawal by ECI is a huge embarrassment for BRS.”

Harish Rao’s statement

Minister Harish Rao in a public rally stated that the farmers will get messages on their phones once the money is put in by the government.

The withdrawal of Rythu Bandhu is being seen as a ‘huge embarrassment’ for the BRS party. With elections on November 30, this development is likely to have a huge impact.