Telangana people gave clear verdict to liberate state from 10 years of repression: Guv Soundararajan

Hyderabad: Observing that the people in Telangana gave a clear verdict to liberate themselves from 10 years of repression in the recent assembly polls, Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Friday said the government will stand by each and every promise it has made to people.

In her address to the joint session of the legislature, the first assembly session after the Congress government took over, she said 2023 will remain in history as the year that has brought a new beginning to Telangana's journey. People are experiencing the change already, she said.

"Telangana is breathing fresh air of freedom and liberty now. Telangana is liberated from autocratic rule and dictatorial tendencies," she said.

The present elected government thanks all people, parties, leaders and the then UPA Government and the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for creating a separate Telangana State in 2014, respecting the decades-old aspirations of the people, she said.

"On behalf of four crore Telangana people, the present government thanks Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the then chairperson of UPA, for the key role she played in the process of creating Telangana into a separate state," she said.

The Governor paid tribute to the martyrs who laid down their precious lives for the cause of Telangana statehood.

Alleging that the entire financial discipline in the state is destroyed owing to the bad governance of the previous regime, she said the government is focused on strengthening the derailed financial situation.

"We will place before the people the financial condition of each and every department by releasing white papers and show them the real facts. We will be releasing the whitepapers as part of the transparent government that we promised to the people," she said.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, at the time of swearing in, made it clear that in a democracy, the rulers are the people's servants, and they are not feudal lords, she said.

The governance is moving forward and taking steps in this direction and the 'Praja Vaani' programme of taking grievances from people at the CM's camp office is the first step in this direction, she said.

"At the time of the elections, we gave word to the people that we would get Indiramma Rajyam (welfare rule of former PM Indira Gandhi) in Telangana," she said.

Referring to the six poll 'guarantees' of the ruling Congress, she said, in tune with the promises made, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy signed the file giving legal sanctity to the six guarantees soon after his swearing in.

"This proved the commitment and dedication of our government. My government has taken the first step along the path of welfare for the people of the state. My government will stand by each and every promise it has made," she said.

Within 48 hours of entering into governance, the government has implemented two out of six guarantees - the free bus travel for women in state-run RTC buses and provision of medical facilities to poor up to Rs 10 lakh under the new Rajiv Arogya Sree scheme, she said.

The government will lay out a definite and time-bound action plan to implement other guarantees promised in the poll manifesto such as the 'Mahalakshmi' Scheme (free bus travel, LGP cyclinder at Rs 500), 'Rythu Bharosa' (Rs 15,000 per acre to farmers and tenant farmers annually), 'Gruha Jyothi' (200 units of free electricity), 'Indiramma' Houses (free house site and Rs 5 lakh to those who don't own a house), 'Yuva Vikasam' (Vidya Bharosa card of Rs 5 lakh to students), and 'Cheyutha' (social security pension of Rs 4,000 per month), within 100 days of its governance.

"This government is dedicated to implementing each and every promise it made in the party manifesto, and the government will stand by it," she said.