KCR's failure to fulfill promises driving people to suicide: Uttam

Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Capt N. Uttam Kumar Reddy blamed Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for the suicide of Dalit youth Mahankali Srinivas who died of burn injuries at a city hospital on Sunday.

Srinivas and another youth Yalala Parushramulu of Gudem village of Bejjanki mandal from Siddipet district had set themselves ablaze in front of the camp office of Manakondur TRS MLA Rasamayi Balakishan on September 3 demanding promised 3 acres of land for Dalit families. Srinivas succumbed to burn injuries today while undergoing treatment at Yashoda Hospital in Secunderabad.

Addressing a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan on Sunday, the TPCC chief, along with former minister D. Sridhar Babu, DCC presidents Sunitha Lakshma Reddy, Kayam Mallesh, Nayani Rajender Reddy and Taher Bin Hamdan, strongly condemned the incident and alleged that the failure of electoral promises by TRS Government was forcing the people to commit suicide. He said as against the promise of giving 3 acres of land to nearly 3 lakh Dalit families, land was not given to even 3,000 families during the last three years. Similarly, he said another person Ayub Khan, who attempted suicide in the presence of Minister Mahender Reddy in Tandur, died on Saturday. Ayub Khan ended his life alleging injustices under KCR's regime. “These incidents clearly expose the gravity of the situation wherein poor prefer death over tolerating injustice and deprivation by TRS Government,” he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said Dalits are being subjected to various atrocities under TRS rule. "They are either being murdered or abetted to suicide. They are being implicated in false cases, subjected to third degree torture and brutally lathicharged by the police. While Tribal farmers were chained and hand-cuffed after being booked in a false case for demanding better price for their chilli produce in Khammam, Tribal women were tied to trees at another place in Sircilla," he said while alleging that many more incidents of atrocities against Dalits, Girijans, BCs, minorities and other weaker sections under KCR regime were going unreported.

The TPCC Chief said that the TRS Govt was deeply mired in corruption, irregularities, oppression and discrimination against weak and completely lost its focus from administration. He said people would soon teach a fitting lesson to KCR and TRS leaders for the injustices being meted out to them.

TPCC constitutes Expert Committee on Kaleshwaram

Stating that the Congress was not against the construction of irrigation projects, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the party was just opposing the irregularities by KCR Government. He alleged that the TRS Government was sanctioning the projects only to get kickbacks from contractors while ignoring all safety and environmental norms. He informed that the TPCC leaders had conducted a review on the Kaleshwaram works at a meeting held today at Gandhi Bhavan which was attended by former MLA Marri Sashidhar Reddy, Kisan Cell chairman Kodanda Reddy, TPCC Vice-President Sridhar Babu, DCC presidents Rajender Reddy, Sunitha Lakshma Reddy, Kayam Mallesh and Taher Bin Hamdan.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the TRS Government tried to politicise the public hearing on environmental clearances for Kaleshwaram project. He said that the ruling party leaders did not allow the real stakeholders and public representatives to express their views on the projects and tried to influence upon the Central team. Therefore, he said that the TPCC had decided to constitute an Expert Committee to study the impact of Kaleshwaram project on environment. He said that the TRS Government was not constructing the irrigation projects for farmers, but only for commissions.