Former health minister Eatala Rajendra appealed to people of his constituency not to fall for the canards being spread by ruling TRS leaders about halting pensions and other welfare schemes if he was elected in the Huzurabad byelection on Tuesday.
“Who are they to threaten to stop the welfare schemes? Are they giving from their pocket? I will fight to see the pensions and other schemes are implemented without fail. In fact, we will enhance them if the BJP is elected to power,” he said, on the second day of his Praja Deevena Yatra.
He once again targetted Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and questioned him why he went back on his promise to have a Dalit CM and why he removed another Dalit from the deputy CM post. “There has been no progress in issuing new pensions, ration cards, two-bedroom houses or stipend to unemployed but he has been launching new schemes to cheat the Dalits yet again,” charged the BJP leader.
Dalit Bandhu was meant to defeat him but he welcomed it and wanted the scheme to be taken up across the State in all constituencies along with farmers’ loan waiver scheme. “TRS Ministers and MLAs distributing money should implement these welfare scheme promises in their respective areas first. They can spend any amount of money but Telangana people won’t let their self-respect be purchased,” he said.
Alleging that Finance Minister T. Harish Rao was in the forefront in luring his supporters, he warned that the former too would meet the same fate like him as Mr. Rao “will not spare him”. Leaders and activists who took part in the statehood agitation had been thrown aside while those who were in the other parties then had now become ring leaders in TRS leading the charge against him, he added.