CM To Go On Padayatra For Fight Against Vote Theft

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy today said that some political forces were conspiring to carry out "vote chori" (vote theft) in Telangana, similar to what happened in Bihar, Maharashtra and other parts of India.

Speaking at the 375th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Sardar Sarvai Papanna Goud Maharaj, the Chief Minister said that the Congress would thwart all such attempts to manipulate elections in Telangana, and called upon the people to join the fight against vote theft.

He said that Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and he would participate in a padayatra in support of Rahul Gandhi's campaign against vote theft.

He alleged that the Election Commission had registered one crore voters in Maharashtra within four months, which helped the BJP come to power, and strongly objected to the EC seeking an affidavit from Rahul Gandhi instead of acting against those responsible for the vote theft.

He said that Rahul Gandhi had exposed similar fraud in Bihar, where 65 lakh voters were deleted ahead of the Assembly elections.

Reddy also took the opportunity to also say that the Telangana government would fulfill the aspirations of the BC community. He said that the Congress government in Telangana had conducted a caste census with commitment, fulfilling Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra promise. The census revealed that BCs constituted 56.33% of the State's population.

"We have since enacted two separate laws providing 42% quota for BCs in education, employment and politics, and sent the bills to the Centre for approval. However, both the bills and the ordinance forwarded by the Governor are still pending with the Centre," he said.

Reddy said that the Congress had staged a massive dharna in Delhi demanding early approval of those bills, but the Centre had turned a deaf ear for the past five months. He criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Coal and Mines Minister Kishan Reddy for "obstructing" the implementation of the 42% reservations in the guise of opposing reservations for Muslims, and challenged the BJP to scrap the Muslim quota among BCs in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

The CM also urged the BCs to pursue higher education too and take part in governance, because only when they attained political power could they bring about societal change. He recalled the heroic fight and services rendered by Sardar Sarvai Papanna Goud for BC empowerment by establishing the BC Province, and alleged that the previous government had conspired to destroy the historic Khilashapur Fort in the name of mining.

"We visited the fort and announced its development as a major tourist destination," he said. He also announced that, in recognition of Goud's services, the State government would install his statue near the State Secretariat.

"Statues of great personalities are not meant only for birth and death anniversaries, but to carry forward their aspirations and inspire future generations," he said.