Shelling out Rs 1.7Lakh crore on Dalit Bandhu, not a big deal: KCR

Hyderabad: Stating that the government would spend Rs 23 lakh crore in the next seven years, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Monday said that spending Rs 1.70 lakh crore on Dalit Bandhu was not a big deal.

He made these comments during a meeting held at Telangana Bhavan where former minister Motkupalli Narasimhulu joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Monday. Heaping praises on Motkupalli, the TRS chief said, "He (Motkupalli) is a man who strives for the betterment of poorest of poor. A good friend of mine, he was aware of electricity problems in the State when he was the energy minister."

Clarifying on the promise of making Dalit the Chief Minister of State, KCR said, "After Telangana formation, I had decided to stay away from politics. However, a few expressed concerns about the State if it was handed over to any other person. Hence, I took the charge. Without giving into criticism, I put the State on the path of growth and there is lot that is left to be done."

Adding that Dalit Bandhu was not brought for Tamasha (entertainment), he said the investment of Rs 1.70 lakh crore on Dalit Bandhu would result in income of Rs 10 lakh crore. "This scheme is not for votes... there is no politics attached to it. We will implement it at any cost," he said, calling upon his party MLAs to explain the need of Dalit Bandhu to people in their constituencies. The TRS chief further said that many had expressed doubts over increase in Naxal activities in the State once Telangana was formed.

"They said Naxalites would roam with AK47 weapons and there would be no investments. A few of my friends even warned me saying that I might get killed. But, we have successfully addressed all these issues and today, Telangana is one of the topmost States in the country attracting huge foreign investments," he said. Adding that the government was planning to bring out a few schemes to benefit Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) on the lines of Dalit Bandhu, the Chief Minister said if the revenues increase, it would be spent for uplift of poorer sections.

Even the BJP MLAs from Karnataka are demanding Telangana schemes in their state or some even want Raichur to be merged into Telangana, KCR claimed.

"TRS will form the government even during the next term and there is no doubt about it," he expressed confidence, saying that elections would come and go, parties win and lose, but Telangana development would continue.