TRS faces Dalit Bandhu rush

Hyderabad: Ministers and TRS MLAs are said to be facing an uphill task in selecting 100 beneficiaries for Dalit Bandhu in their constituencies within the next 10 days.

Each constituency has 15,000 Dalit families on an average and there is a huge rush to figure in the list of 100 beneficiaries. The list has to be finalised on February 5 for the beneficiaries to receive Rs 10 lakh each by March 31.

The state has nearly 17 lakh Dalit families of whom only 11,800 will get the benefit now. The pressure is more on the TRS which has 103 MLAs in a house of 119, while the AIMIM has seven, the Congress six and the BJP three MLAs.
In the 16 non-TRS constituencies, TRS leaders are trying to secure Dalit Bandhu for their supporters with the help of district in-charge ministers.

With this, local TRS leaders are queuing up before the houses and camp offices of MLAs and ministers in their constituencies. The pressure on ministers and MLAs is so huge that all of them have confined to their respective constituencies for the last two days. A significant number of ministers and MLAs stay in Hyderabad during the week and go to their constituencies over the weekend.

Party sources said ministers and TRS MLAs are also facing a real test in selection of beneficiaries as they fear they would face a baclkash from those who do not make the list now. They have to convince the remaining 14,000 to 15,000 Dalit families in their constituencies to wait for their turn in the next phase, on which there is no clarity.

They also fear it would spur demand from other sections such as Back-ward Classes, Scheduled Tribes, minorities etc for similar schemes, as was witnessed during the Huzurabad bypoll, where Dalit Bandhu was launched in August last.