BRS Leader Accuses Congress of Failing Differently-Abled on Poll Promises
BRS leader Harish Rao alleges Congress reneged on pre-poll promises to differently-abled, citing unpaid pension dues and unfulfilled quotas.
Hyderabad: T. Harish Rao, Deputy Floor Leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the Telangana Assembly, has accused the Congress government of betraying the state's differently-abled community by failing to honour any of its pre-election commitments to them.
Speaking at a 'Samara Shankharavam' (protest rally) of differently-abled persons held here on Saturday, Rao was joined by BRS leaders P. Sabita Indra Reddy, T. Srinivas Yadav, D. Sudheer Reddy, Manchireddy Kishan Reddy, K. Vasudeva Reddy, G. Devi Prasad, and Errolla Srinivas.
Rao contrasted the current government's record with that of the previous BRS regime, which he said raised the social security pension from ₹500 to ₹4,016 per month and treated differently-abled individuals with dignity rather than as a vote bank. He noted that the BRS government spent around ₹54,000 crore on Aasara pensions over nearly ten years, of which about ₹10,300 crore was earmarked for differently-abled persons. Pensions were disbursed regularly every month, he added.
The BRS leader also recalled that the KCR-led government provided 5% reservation for differently-abled persons in double-bedroom houses and 4% in education and employment. Telangana received a national award in 2015 for its effective implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, he said, underscoring the previous administration's commitment.
In contrast, Rao alleged, the Congress government has done nothing for the community. He demanded to know the status of promises made before the 2023 Assembly elections, including a ₹6,000 per month pension, free RTC bus travel, and filling of backlog posts reserved for differently-abled persons. He claimed pensions are not even being paid monthly.
Rao pointed out that there are approximately 5.11 lakh differently-abled persons in the state. The dues for the promised enhanced pension over the last 33 months now amount to ₹66,000 per person, he said. He also noted that the government has not raised pensions even slightly, despite earning ₹30,000 crore from land sales.