KCR rules out possibility of early Assembly polls

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today ruled out possibility of early Assembly polls.

His assertion came in the backdrop of opposition Congress' claim that Assembly elections are likely to be advanced in Telangana.

"Elections will happen as per schedule," he said in the Legislative Assembly, referring to the comments of state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy.

The term of current Assembly ends in 2019.

Rao's comments came during a debate on the annual budget for 2017-18 while talking about the measures announced by the TRS government for the welfare of backward classes.

The decisions announced by the state government were not aimed at any political gains, but to strengthen rural economy, he said.

The government is going to spend about Rs 10,000 crore -Rs 20,000 crore on giving a boost to rural economy, he said.

The government has allocated Rs 1,000 crore for the Most Backward Classes Corporation and proposed an amount of Rs 5,070.36 crore for welfare of backward classes in the budget.

Responding to queries raised by Opposition Leader K Jana Reddy, Rao said the issue of identifying the most backward classes, to receive the benefits from the government, has been referred to the Backward Classes Commission.

Talking about the TRS government's move to promote traditional occupations like sheep rearing and fisheries in a big way, Jana Reddy wondered whether the targeted beneficiaries have been identified.

On the criticism of opposition parties that there is not much progress in implementing the promise of two-bed room houses for the poor, Rao said two lakh houses will be built by the end of this year.

On the comments of Jana Reddy and BJP floor leader G Kishan Reddy about mounting public debt, the chief minister said taking loans and repaying them is a "continuous process".

The government would pay back Rs 20,000 crore this year, he said.