Govt losing its nerve on GP polls: Uttam

Hyderabad: Telangana Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday alleged that the TRS government was making desperate attempts to delay the Gram Panchayat elections as it fears a humiliating defeat.

In a live interaction with Congress party workers on social media platform Facebook, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is trying to cheat the Backward Classes en masse so as to avoid holding elections for Gram Panchayats in the state. 

He said that the Congress party has been demanding reservation for BCs in proportion to their population. Therefore, he said that the Congress party would continue its struggle till it gets 52 per cent quota for BCs in Panchayat Raj polls.

Uttam said that the Congress party had nothing to do with the case filed in High Court against crossing of 50 per cent reservation ceiling. Stating that there were clear indications of early polls in November or December, the TPCC president asked the Congress cadre to prepare themselves for the same. 

He said all surveys have predicated a landslide victory for Congress party in next elections, whenever they are held.  

Speaking about farmers, Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated that the Congress party would waive off crop loans up to Rs two lakh for each farmer in a single take within 100 days after coming to power. He said entire agriculture sector would be given a major boost through a comprehensive policy with special emphasis on farmers' welfare. 

He said a new crop insurance scheme would be launched wherein the State Government itself would pay the premium. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the farmers need proper MSP, timely procurement of their produce and a reliable crop insurance scheme. 

He announced that the next Congress Government would ensure minimum guaranteed prices for various crops which will be in addition to the Minimum Support Prices. They include Rs 2,000 per quintal of paddy, Rs 6,000 for cotton, Rs 3,500 for Soyabean, Rs 10,000 for chilli and turmeric and Rs 3,000 for Red Jowar.

Uttam said that the Chief Minister has been cheating Dalits and Girijans since his first day in power. He said that the vacancies that existed on June 2, 2014 have remained vacant as on today. 

He alleged that Chandrasekhara Rao came to power due to the votes of unemployed youth. However, soon after becoming Chief Minister, he eradicated unemployment from his family by accommodating four other relatives on top posts of state ministers and MPs. The TPCC president promised that the next Congress government would fill all vacant posts besides creating lakhs of new jobs.