Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar.
Hyderabad: Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Saturday, August 15, questioned the Congress government in Telangana for printing photos of CM A. Revanth Reddy and Civil Supplies Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on the smart PDS ration cards issued by the state government.
Sanjay Kumar, Union Minister of State for Home, also asked why Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo is not printed on the cards though the Centre provides rice to the state government.
“Neither the Chief Minister nor the concerned minister is permanent,” he told reporters here. He claimed that about Rs 600 crore is being spent on the smart cards.
Sanjay Kumar said the cards distributed by the Congress government in neighbouring Karnataka had the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s photo, which became useless after he stepped down from the post.
“The government of Narendra Modi is providing rice to 57 lakh ration cardholders in Telangana. It is Modi ji who is giving rice and funds. You are printing your photos. What right do you have?” he said.
Referring to the legislation making any insult to Vande Mataram a punishable offence, he said AIMIM members walked out when the national song was played in the assembly in the past.
He said he would organise a singing of Vande Mataram with one lakh people at the Bhagyalakshmi temple at Charminar here. He challenged AIMIM leaders to stall the programme.
He said there is no difference between the present Congress government and the previous BRS regime.
Similar to BRS, the Congress government has also not fulfilled its election promises, including financial assistance to unemployed youth and students’ tuition fee reimbursement.
CM Revanth Reddy had earlier launched the distribution of smart PDS cards in Sangareddy town.
This post was last modified on August 15, 2026 10:43 pm