Will take fight against G RAM G Bill to villages: CM

Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday announced a statewide political mobilisation against the Centres new rural job guarantee scheme — G RAM G Bill — declaring that the Congress would take the fight from the assembly to the village level through public meetings and gram sabhas.

The CM said he would address nine public meetings across the nine erstwhile districts, urging party leaders to campaign aggressively against the Bill and pass resolutions in every village. He added Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi would participate in one of the meetings.

Addressing the TPCC extended meeting, Revanth said the campaign would follow a comprehensive action plan finalised by the AICC in response to what he referred to as the ‘Ji Ram Ji law.

He recalled that the state assembly had unanimously passed a resolution opposing the legislation and announced that similar resolutions would be adopted in all 12,702 villages between Jan 20 and 30. He stressed this was not merely the responsibility of village sarpanches but of every MLA.

The CM asked TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud and AICC Telangana affairs in-charge Meenakshi Natarajan to appoint ministers as party in-charges for 15 parliamentary segments, excluding Hyderabad and Secunderabad. He said national, state and district-level leaders would participate in the programme, with each leader assigned responsibility for one mandal.

Revanth said he too would personally take charge of one mandal. We will invite Sonia (if her health permits) or Rahul or Priyanka in Mulugu district, represented in cabinet by panchayat raj minister Seethakka, he said.

Large public meetings, each expected to draw one lakh people, will be held in the nine districts outside Hyderabad starting Feb 3, beginning in the undivided Mahabubnagar district. The meetings will oppose what the CM described as the Modi govts attempt to weaken the rights of the poor and agricultural labourers. Each meeting will be overseen by a different minister. Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy will coordinate the programme, while Mahesh Goud, deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka and Natarajan will monitor the campaign.

Revanth accused the Modi govt of trying to undermine the employment guarantee scheme, calling it a globally recognised programme that brought transformative change. He alleged the BJP, having failed to secure 400 seats to amend the Constitution, was now attempting to curtail peoples rights through other means, including the special intensive revision.

‘PM should apologise

He said the right to vote was the only weapon of the poor and alleged that its dilution would affect access to Aadhaar, ration cards and welfare schemes, amounting to a return to bonded labour.

He said the Congress would not relent until the PM apologised to the nation and restored the employment guarantee scheme, particularly in the Telugu states. Calling for a clean sweep in the upcoming municipal elections, Revanth urged party cadres to ensure Congress control of local bodies. We will be in power for the next eight years in the state, and only if we have a hold on local bodies can we develop these local bodies, he said.

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