Former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Saturday accused the BRS and BJP of enacting well-scripted drama to divert attention from improper implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Telangana State.
Shabbir Ali was addressing a meeting after unveiling the statue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Anthampally village in Bhiknoor Mandal of Kamareddy constituency. A huge bike rally was also organised on the occasion.
He said that the both BRS Govt in Telangana and BJP Govt at the Centre were not implementing the NREGS in Telangana in a proper manner. He said that the ongoing tussle between the BRS and BJP Govts over the alleged diversion of Rs. 151.9 crores of MGNREGS funds were deliberately created to divert people’s attention. He pointed out that the BJP Govt has reduced the man-days from 16 crores in the last financial year to 10 crores this fiscal. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao did not complain or hold a protest against the BJP Govt for reducing 6 crore man-days. Consequently, nearly 55.52 lakh job cardholders in Telangana were not getting adequate work and lost their source of livelihood. To divert their attention, now the BRS leaders are enacting the dramas of protest against the Modi Govt, he alleged.
The Congress leader said that both BRS and BJP Govts were not sincere towards the implementation of NREGS and both were exploring different excuses to reduce the man-days. He demanded that the BRS and BJP Govts stop the ongoing blame game and take measures to increase the man-days to 150 days per person.
Earlier, while paying rich tributes to Rajiv Gandhi, Shabbir Ali called the former PM the Father of the Digital Revolution. He said the initiatives taken by Rajiv Gandhi brought Information Technology and Telecom revolutions in the country. He said Rajiv Gandhi believed in empowering the youth and women. For the same reason, he lowered the voting age to 18 years. Further, 73rd and 74th amendments were brought to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in Panchayat Raj. As a result, among 32 lakh elected representatives of 2.5 lakh elected bodies over 12 lakhs are women, he said.
Shabbir Ali said that the previous Congress regimes established great institutions and innovative schemes which ensured the development of all sections of society. For instance, he said that institutions like IIT, IIM, AIIMS, etc., were conceptualised and started by Congress regimes. Further, the schemes like MGNREGS were introduced by the previous Congress-led UPA Govt which is still providing guaranteed employment to the rural population. He said the Congress Govt in Rajasthan has recently started a guaranteed employment scheme for the urban population.
The Congress leader said that BRS and BJP Govts destroyed several institutions and diluted many schemes like NREGS which were originally designed to empower the common people. He appealed to the people to reject both BRS and BJP and ensure that Congress return to power in the next elections. He said only the Congress party has a vision and commitment to eradicate poverty and unemployment.
Kamareddy DCC President Kailas Srinivas, Mandal President Bheem Reddy and other senior leaders including Chandrakanth Reddy, Sudhakar Reddy, Indira Reddy, Edlaraj Reddy and Sudharshan Reddy were present.
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