Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today welcomed former cricketer Kaushik Reddy as well as some leaders from Karimnagar into the ruling party.
At a program held at the TRS headquarters, the CM, along with Finance Minister T Harish Rao, SC Welfare Minister Koppula Eshwar, and MLA Balka Suman, offered the new leaders pink TRS shawls.
Later, KCR addressed the gathering and said that Kaushik Reddy had a bright political future.
"Kaushik's father was my associate in the statehood movement. I also knew his grandfather. I am happy to welcome him into the TRS," he stated.
The CM then described, briefly, how the TRS had started with just a handful of members who had banded together to fight for statehood despite many "hurdles, insults and obstructions", and added, "When I became Chief Minister of Telangana in 2014, I focused on basic amenities' provision and strengthening the financial resources of the new state. My government worked to bring development to the people of the state through comprehensive welfare schemes."
"We started sheep distribution programs to help the Yadava community and tried to prevent farmer suicides through the Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bhima schemes. We also tried to increase the profitability of agriculture by bringing down input costs. Further, we took steps to set up 24-hour power supply systems for the farmers of our state. Today, they are able to produce 3 crore metric tonnes of paddy as a result of such efforts," the leader gushed.
He then highlighted the work that his government had done to revive the political and economic systems of the region that had "collapsed" during the rule of the preceding governments of undivided Andhra Pradesh.
After this, KCR slammed the Opposition for making "false charges" against his regime, and claimed, "The Opposition is always levelling false charges against us. However, these do not affect us. We have turned the state into a lush green region and are constantly working to improve infrastructure and developmental outcomes. Welfare and development are our central concerns. So, the lies being spread by some will not be believed by anyone."
The TRS supremo then the addressed claims that the government had started its
Dalit Bandhu program to secure benefits in the upcoming Huzurabad by-election.
"We began the Dalit Bandhu program to help the poor and marginalised Dalit community in the state. The scheme will empower SC households who will get aid of Rs 10 lakh each. We have not implemented the scheme for any narrow electoral gain but because we truly are concerned by the living conditions of the Dalits," he explained.