Will unemployment dole check saffron surge?

Nampally : More than two years after promising unemployment allowance, the TRS government is gearing up to formulate a scheme as it seeks to check BJP surge in Telangana State.

Despite a big drop in revenue due to Covid induced lockdown and consequent slowdown, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government is contemplating to roll out unemployment allowance soon.

The TRS working president and minister for industry, information technology, municipal administration and urban development KT Rama Rao stated a couple of days ago that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is likely to announce an unemployment allowance in the next few days."The Chief Minister, in a day or two, may make an announcement on the unemployment allowance," KTR had said.

KTR said the government would soon release a notification for the recruitment to 50,000 posts in the state government. He assured the youth that KCR would bestow more than what they had expected from him.

The move is surprising given the impact the fall on revenue may have on the overall budget size and a plethora of welfare schemes already being implemented by the state.

Political analysts say with BJP going aggressive as part of its goal to come to power in state 2023 and attacking the government on not fulfilling promises made in 2018 elections, TRS is making swift moves to check the saffron surge.

Only last month, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had announced that notifications would be issued shortly for about 50,000 vacancies in the state in several departments.

In by-election to Dubbaka Assembly constituency held in November, TRS suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of BJP which focused on youth and the unfulfilled promises of the ruling party.

After Dubbaka victory, the BJP also made considerable inroads in TRS vote bank by winning 48 seats in 150-member Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), elections held in December. It was an impressive show for BJP which had won only four seats in 2016 elections.

A week after the results of GHMC polls, the chief minister asked Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to collect details about the vacant posts in teachers, police and other departments and issue notifications to fill the vacancies.

"TRS is under extreme pressure from the youth and unemployed sections of the society, along with those who are working in the government. Results in Dubbak and GHMC elections are an indication of the mood of people in the state," said political analyst P Raghavendra Reddy.

He, however, believes that unemployment allowance would act like a painkiller for the short-term but it is not the solution for the problems in Telangana, especially of the youth, said Reddy.

In 2018 Assembly elections, the TRS had promised monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 3,016 till they get a job.

The Congress leader alleged that it was another ploy by the TRS to mislead youth ahead of elections to two seats of Telangana Legislative Council from graduates constituencies of Mahabubnagar-Hyderabad-Rangareddy and Warangal-Nalgonda-Khammam are likely to be held in February.