Congress president Kharge calls for unity among Telangana leaders to win elections, gives SC, ST declaration

CHEVELLA: “I have won elections 11 times out of 12 times I contested, and the one election I lost was because of backstabbers inside the party and not because the opposition was strong,” Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, calling for unity among Congress leaders in Telangana to win the ensuing elections at the Chevella Praja Garjana public meeting on Saturday.

He said that if the Congress leaders failed to unite, the people of Telangana would lose the battle against K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), the Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief. “Do whatever you want to do, but do it unitedly,” he said.

Giving a call to defeat the BJP and BRS Governments at the Centre and the State, he reminded people that it was the Congress that carved the separate State of Telangana. “Telangana was not given only because of one person. People and the Congress demanded a separate State and Sonia Gandhi gave it. Where was TRS, the Congress gave that energy to KCR, but unfortunately, we didn’t get support from Telangana,” he said, criticising that KCR was treating Telangana as his property.

He said that the KCR-led BRS was not attending the INDIA alliance meetings because the party had a tacit understanding with the BJP. “KCR calls himself secular but shudders to go against BJP,” he said stressing the need to launch a united fight to bring down BJP Government at the Centre.

Explaining the reason for unveiling the 12-point SC ST Declaration from Chevella, Kharge said that Congress came with the agenda for the poor because What KCR promised he didn’t deliver. The Congress after winning the election and forming the Government, will ratify the declaration in its first cabinet meeting,” the AICC Chief declared.

He described elaborately what the Congress had given to the country during its 53 years of rule. “We gave Constitution, democracy, IITs, IIMs, ISRO, DRDO, HAL, BHEL, BEL, ONGC, food grains, food security act and irrigation projects such as Nagarjuna Sagar,” Kharge said urging the Congress cadre to spread the word.

SC, ST Declaration

Earlier, unveiling the 12-point SC ST declaration, TPCC Chief A Revanth said that the party had decided to accord benefits to SC and STs based on their share in the population. SC and ST reservations will be fixed at 18 percent and 12 percent respectively. Congress will give Rs 12 lakh financial assistance to SC, and ST families under Ambedkar Abhaya Hastam, house plots for the landless and Rs lakh for the construction of houses.

Assigned land snatched by the BRS Government will be returned to assignees. Congress will also bring SC categorization benefitting Madigas, special reservation for SC and STs in Government contracts, reservations for SCs and STs in private jobs, ownership rights for Podu lands and assigned lands, Rs 25 lakh per Tanda under Sammakka Sarakka Rural scheme, and establishment of three corporations each for SCs and STs with the financial assistance of Rs 750 crore to each corporation, Vidya Jyothulu and assistance to study in foreign universities were some of the major decisions taken by the Congress.