KT Rama Rao, the working president of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), has criticized the Congress government in Telangana for failing to deliver on its promise of waiving farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh. In a recent statement, KTR accused the Congress party of not fulfilling its electoral commitment, which was made on December 9, when it promised that all farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh would be forgiven.
According to KTR, eight months have passed since this promise was made, and the Congress government has yet to waive even one-seventh of the total loans. He challenged Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s claim that the government had already completed the waiver. KTR pointed out that the Deputy Chief Minister, who is also the State Finance Minister, had publicly stated that only Rs 7,000 crore out of the initially promised Rs 49,000 crore had been disbursed. This discrepancy has led KTR to question the CM’s assertions that the loan waiver process was fully completed.
KTR demanded transparency from the Congress government, suggesting that if the government could prove that a 100% loan waiver had been achieved in even a single constituency, he would resign from politics immediately. He has urged the Congress to announce a clear timeline for when the full loan waiver would be implemented. KTR emphasized that as the principal opposition party, the BRS is committed to holding the Congress accountable for its promises, which were part of the ‘Warangal Rythu Declaration’ made during the Assembly elections. This declaration had assured farmers that their loans of up to Rs 2 lakh per acre would be waived upon the Congress party coming to power.
In response to the government’s handling of the loan waiver, the BRS has organized protests across Mandal and Constituency centers in Telangana. The demonstrations reflect the dissatisfaction among farmers and the political opposition regarding the government’s approach to the loan waiver scheme. The Congress government, after coming to power, split the waiver into three instalments, which has further exacerbated the discontent among farmers.
BRS MLA T Harish Rao also criticized the Congress administration for its failure to honor its loan waiver promise. Rao accused the Revanth Reddy government of misleading farmers during both the Assembly and parliamentary elections. He noted that the Congress had promised to complete the loan waiver by August 15, but as of that date, no significant progress had been made. Rao claimed that the government had deceived farmers to gain their votes without delivering on its commitments.
The situation underscores a growing frustration among farmers and opposition parties over the implementation of electoral promises made by the Congress government in Telangana.