BRS’ legal balm to sarpanches to stave off fund-cut threats by Cong
BRS leader vows legal action against alleged Congress harassment, claims BRS secured 80% of seats in recent polls
BRS Working President K T Rama Rao on Monday asserted that nobody could stop Finance Commission funds and other constitutionally assured allocations to gram panchayats (village councils). The BRS leader announced that the party would set up district Legal Cells to help Sarpanches facing harassment from the ruling party.
Stating that he had learned some Congress MLAs were allegedly threatening newly elected BRS Sarpanches with denial of funds to their respective gram panchayats if they did not join the ruling party, Rama Rao said Sarpanches should be aware of their rights. He stressed that neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy nor MLAs could stop Finance Commission funds, as these amounts were earmarked in the Constitution. He clarified that gram panchayats would directly receive 70 per cent of Finance Commission funds, followed by Mandal Parishads with 20 per cent and Zilla Parishads with 10 per cent.
If there was any instance of funds being stalled to gram panchayats represented by BRS Sarpanches, the party would take steps to ensure the release of funds by raising the issue in the Assembly, Council, and Parliament, he assured.
Rama Rao said there was a possibility of the Congress government attempting to stop funds to gram panchayats by implicating BRS Sarpanches in cases. He added that the party would set up a legal cell in every district to extend legal assistance to such Sarpanches. If any BRS public representative was put in trouble by the Congress, they should approach party leaders, Rama Rao advised, and asked party leaders to fight on their behalf by filing cases in court, stating that it was the responsibility of the party to protect them.
Commenting on Revanth Reddy’s campaign in gram panchayat elections in the name of Vijayotsavams (Victory Celebrations), he said he had never seen a Chief Minister campaign for gram panchayat polls. Despite the Chief Minister’s campaign and warnings by ruling party MLAs about denial of welfare schemes, Congress candidates were not elected and BRS won up to 80 per cent of seats in some areas in the gram panchayat polls, he claimed.
