Poll code blocks Bathukamma sarees

​Hyderabad: In what is being perceived as a major shock to Telangana caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday denied permission to the state government for distribution of sarees to women on the occasion of state’s official festival - Bathukamma to be celebrated from October 9 to 17. Telangana government has placed orders for 95 lakh Bathukamma sarees and blouses at a cost of Rs 280 crore. As many as 50 lakh sarees were already sent to the districts and stored in the godowns for distribution.

In a communication to the state Chief Electoral Officer Rajat Kumar, the EC officials informed him that the distribution of sarees will attract violation of model code of conduct which was already in force in the state soon after the dissolution of the state Assembly on September 6. In a response to the letter forwarded by the CEO who sought clarification whether the caretaker government is allowed to implement saree distribution scheme, the Commission observed the it would indeed influence the voters though the scheme is old one.

The Commission is also inquiring about the Rythu Bandhu scheme under which each farmer gets Rs 4,000 per acre as incentive. The government has already announced the schedule for the distribution of the cheques in November first week. In a week or ten days, officials said that the commission will take a decision on the Rythu Bandhu scheme. Telangana State government launched Batukamma saree distribution scheme in 2017 aiming to provide clothes to the poor women and also create employment to the distressed weavers in the state.