BRS Misleading People Over Sarpanches Dues: Congress

Congress MLA and Government Whip Aadi Srinivas sharply criticized BRS leaders today, accusing them of misleading the public over the allegations of unpaid dues to village sarpanches in Telangana.

Srinivas condemned the BRS leaders for shedding "crocodile tears" for the sarpanches now that the former were out of power, and claimed that the sarpanches had faced severe neglect and despair during the BRS regime, with some even driven to suicide due to financial pressures.

He accused the K Chandrashekar Rao-led previous government of imposing financial burdens on sarpanches under the guise of development projects, forcing them to spend lakhs on initiatives like Rythu Vedikas and crematoriums, effectively "holding them hostage" with these financial demands.

Srinivas claimed that the BRS government even suspended sarpanches who could not complete these projects on time, pushing them into deep financial and emotional distress. He added that the funds allocated by the Central Finance Commission for rural development and governance were diverted, leaving panchayats financially crippled and undermining rural self-rule.

"Former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's administration devastated the financial stability of panchayats, all for personal gain. Several sarpanches even committed suicides due to such situations. And former minister Harish Rao, who is now claiming that his heart bleeds for the sarpanches, never visited or even offered condolences to their families," Srinivas alleged.

He said that the current Congress government was working to rectify the sins of the previous administration, including addressing over Rs 40,000 crore in unpaid dues left by the BRS government.

The Congress MLA demanded an apology from Harish Rao, saying, "Only after he apologizes to the village sarpanches should he consider speaking on the issue of unpaid dues."