Gamangs embrace BRS; CM vows Kisan Bandhu sop

HYDERABAD: Welcoming Odisha former CM Giridhar Gamang and his son Sishir who, along with nearly 50 leaders from Odisha, including former MLAs and MPs, joined the party on Friday, BRS president and Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao declared that if the party won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it would implement the Kisan Bandhu scheme across the country, similar to the Rythu Bandhu in Telangana.

In his address at Telangana Bhavan, the party's headquarters, Rao promised to implement Dalit Bandhu nationwide to cover 25 lakh Dalit families each year, assured to make India a "power cut-free country" within two years and promised to launch projects such as Mission Bhagiratha to deliver treated water to every household in the country in five years.

Under the Rythu Bandhu scheme, the BRS government extends Rs. 10,000 per acre per year at the rate of Rs. 5,000 per acre each for the kharif and rabi seasons, irrespective of the extent of land owned by farmers. "Implementing these schemes is not about "dhan ki baat" (matter of money), but it is about "mann ki baat" (matter of heart). If we have the heart to implement, we can do this," Rao remarked.

Stating that there was no dearth of resources in this country, Rao said, "India has more resources than the US and China. But still we are lagging behind because of the inefficient governments that ruled the country in the last 75 years, which miserably failed to tap the available resources. They failed to provide drinking water, irrigation and power in the last 75 years,” he noted.

The CM claimed that the BRS government in Telangana was able to provide uninterrupted power to all sectors and clean drinking water to every family within five years. “If it was possible in Telangana, why can't it be in all other states? People in India still want their children to go abroad for jobs and make a good earning and living. Indians are celebrating if any of their family members gets a US green card. Why are we celebrating this despite having abundant resources in India," he asked.

Holding the previous governments responsible for the plight of the people, Rao said, "Political parties and leaders are bothered only about winning elections by hook or by crook. Whenever elections come, it's the parties which are winning and people remain the losers. People should win the elections and not parties. To bring transformation in the country, we have launched BRS. I am confident of achieving this goal."

The CM lashed out at the policies of the BJP-led government at the Centre, saying, "Their policy is socialisation of losses and privatisation of profits. They burden people with higher fuel prices citing losses of petroleum firms. But they privatise profit making PSUs like LIC."