AICC spokesperson Sravan Dasoju slammed the Telangana State Election Commission (SEC) for taking a U-turn on the distribution of relief funds to the victims of the recent Hyderabad floods.
The SEC, while announcing the GHMC election schedule yesterday,
had allowed the registration for and distribution of flood relief funds. However, it issued a new notification today stalling the process citing the election code.
The senior Congress Party leader criticized the SEC for "showing double standards and acting like a puppet in the hands of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao".
"I wonder why the SEC has reversed its decision within 24 hours. What prompted you to suddenly issue this notification? You are behaving like a slave to KCR," Dasoju said, and demanded the immediate restoration of the registration for and distribution of flood relief funds in Hyderabad.
"Thousands of people including women are standing in long queues without food or shelter due to the mindless decisions taken by KCR and KTR, who are gleefully enjoying the show. Some of the people are even sleeping on the roads overnight by bringing blankets, fearing that they might not get a chance to apply if they leave the place. They are putting their valuable lives at risk in these pandemic times. This pathetic situation is seen across divisions, and is so painful and indigestible," he added, and showed videos of long queues of people standing in front of Mee-Seva centres.
"Despite being a highly educated person, why are you playing cheap politics with innocent people just for the sake of votes? Can't you transfer the amount directly into their accounts like you did during the lockdown? Don't you have basic humanity? Aren't you eating food? You are insulting the self-respect and dignity of the poor people who have been devastated by the incessant rains that lashed the city. They will definitely teach you a lesson in the GHMC elections," Dasoju said.
He also asked KCR and KTR to stop their "shameless politics" in the name of flood relief funds. He said that KCR was trying to blame the Congress by claiming that the process was stalled due to a complaint by the Congress. "The Congress is demanding only the stopping of cash distribution and the application process at the E-Seva and Mee-Seva centres - we are demanding direct money transfer to the accounts of the victims," he explained.