Hyderabad: Former Telangana finance minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Siddipet MLA Harish Rao on Saturday, August 17 asked chief minister Revanth Reddy to ‘prove’ that the ruling Congress has implemented its farm loan waiver promises.
Harish Rao at a press conference at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad sharply criticized the Congress government for “misleading” people by “partially” implementing the promised farmer loan waiver. “During the Assembly elections, Revanth Reddy claimed that loan waiver would cost ₹40,000 crore and promised to waive off by December 9 as a gift to Sonia Gandhi. However, that promise was not kept,” said the BRS leader.
The former Telangana finance minister said that in a bid to win the Parliament elections this year, Revanth Reddy also promised a loan waiver at a cost of Rs 31,000 crores. Harish Rai Rao said that the government promised to waive it off by August 15. “On Independence Day, Revanth Reddy claimed the loan waiver was completed. However, only ₹17,000 crores were actually waived for 22 lakh farmers, far less than the ₹40,000 crores originally promised,” he claimed.
The ex-BRS minister went on to claim that Rs 23,000 crores “were cut” without explanation. “The Congress had promised to benefit 47 lakh farmers, but only 22 lakh received the waiver benefit, which is just 46% of the promised number. About 25 lakh farmers were deceived, yet Revanth Reddy and his allies shamelessly boast about the loan waiver,” Harish Rao stated.
He also challenged Revanth Reddy to prove that the loan waiver was fully implemented. “You choose the place, date, and time, and let’s go to any district, constituency, or village—your constituency or mine,” Harish Rao stated.
“He reminded everyone of his commitment to the people of Telangana, stating that he resigned for the cause of Telangana without caring about posts, while Revanth Reddy held onto Chandrababu’s coattails and even became Chief Minister after losing in Kodangal by switching parties. Harish Rao also criticized Revanth Reddy for calling on him to resign, despite Revanth’s own failure to keep his promises,” said a press release from his office.
Telangana MLA Harish Rao’s office vandalised; BRS blames Congress
Harish Rao also said that he had earlier promised to resign if the state government waived Rs 2 lakh for all farmers by August 15 and fulfilled the 13 promises under the six guarantees of the Congress.
“However, Revanth Reddy failed to deliver on these guarantees,” he claimed, and accused Revanth of starting a malicious campaign to cover up his failures.
Harish Rao also condemned the recent attack on the BRS office in Siddipet, stating it was done by frustrated Congress’s over urs partial loan waiver. “These attacks aren’t new, but they are unacceptable. In our ten years in power, we never resorted to such tactics,” Harish Rao said. He warned that if such actions continue, there will be “serious consequences”.
