PM started debate on ‘freebies’ to make common man lives more miserable: Telangana Min KTR

Hyderabad, Aug 14 (Representative) Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working President and Minister K. T. Rama Rao (known as KTR) on Saturday alleged that the BJP government at the Centre has completely ignored the welfare of the people during its eight-year rule and ‘burdened the life of the common man’. Now, the Modi Government has started the debate on ‘freebies ‘to make the lives of common man more miserable, KTR alleged in a media statement here. The Modi government is imposing GST on essential items like milk and curd, he said that ever increasing inflation has broken the back of the poor and during eight years of Modi’s rule, poverty in the country has increased so much that now we are infamous for having more poor people than that of Nigeria, he said. India now ranks at 101st place among 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index – which is a matter of national shame, he said adding that as per the statistics released by the Centre, 35.5 percent of the children born in the country are malnourished.

The 14 Prime Ministers before Modi together were responsible for the country’s debt of Rs. 56 lakh crores whereas Modi’s government alone borrowed more than Rs 80 lakh crores. Recently, the CAG issued a severe warning that 37 percent of the country’s annual income is being spent on paying interest for the money borrowed by the Modi government, KTR said. According to the FRBM Act, the central government should not borrow more than 40 percent of the GDP, but the Modi government has already incurred 54 percent of its debt, the CAG reported, he said the CAG has warned that if the situation continues like this, there is a risk of ‘collapse of the country’s economy.’ What did Modi do with the huge sums of money that he had borrowed has no satisfactory answer. He did not build a mega irrigation project with those loans, nor did he take up any other national level construction.

They haven’t even introduced a single welfare scheme to benefit the poor of the country. When nothing of this sort has been done, where did the lakhs of crores go? PM Modi is the right person to answer this question, he said. Central government brings lakhs of crores as debt, but does not do any useful work with it. At the same time, if the state governments come up with any schemes for the welfare of the poor, they are the ones who spew venom on the schemes labelling them freebies, he further said. According to the Directive Principles, the Government of India should provide equal livelihood to all its citizens without discrimination of gender, religion, caste, creed, or economical status, but it is a bitter truth that in 75 years of independent India, our country is far behind in the implementation of these directive principles, he pointed out.

“Mr PM, do you consider the schemes like one kg rice a rupee to the BC, SC, ST and minority communities who are the poorest in this country, free meals in schools to the poor and underprivileged children; establishment of gurukul schools and free food and accommodation for poor children; Arogya Laxmi, (providing nutritious food to pregnant and lactating women and children below the age of six through Anganwadi centres is a waste of money); Amma Odi – 102 Vehicles ( Providing transport facility for pregnant women before and after delivery) and KCR Kit (Providing financial and medical assistance to women undergoing delivery of the child at any government hospital in the state) — are waste of money,” he questioned. “Mr Modi, why do you dislike a noble mission such as Mission Bhageeratha which provides free drinking water to every house in the state besides ending the fluoride crisis,” he also questioned.

Prime Minister, are you of the opinion that there is no need for the Dalit Bandhu scheme brought for the upliftment of the downtrodden that have been discriminated against for thousands of years?, he asked. “Modiji, do you want to stop our schemes like Kalyana Lakshmi, Shadi Mubarak which are a blessing to the poor parents to perform the wedding of their daughters,” he asked. Will you (PM) cancel all the welfare schemes currently being implemented in the states where your party is in power?, he said and also asked will you go to the next polls announcing that all these free welfare schemes will be cancelled. Will there be a law or a constitutional amendment in the parliament to cancel all the welfare schemes that are being implemented by various states and the central government, he asked. The country is celebrating its 75 years of Independence. After hoisting the tricolour on the Red Fort, in your (PM) address to the nation, I hope you will make your stand clear on the schemes undertaken for the welfare of the poor, he added.