1 Cr Telangana Voters in Deletion Row?

Telangana Chief Minister, A. Revanth Reddy, on Monday alleged that there is a conspiracy to remove one crore voters in Telangana during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

He alleged that the BJP was conspiring to delete anti-BJP votes under the guise of SIR. He accused the party of targeting the votes of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities.

The Chief Minister was speaking a programme to pay tributes to Communist leader Sarampally Malla Reddy, who passed away recently.

Revanth Reddy underlined the need for all the non-BJP parties to unite to fight against BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the national level.

“Unable to win elections democratically, they are adopting new tactics. BJP leaders are brazenly declaring that they will replicate in Telangana what they did in West Bengal. They are systematically removing anti-BJP votes,” he said.

He claimed that the BJP was employing private agencies to conduct surveys and systematically delete votes. He also accused the saffron party of using the Election Commission for its political agenda.

The Chief Minister alleged that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) is not uttering a single word about SIR. He said the Communist parties must understand the nature of the understanding that exists behind this.

He underlined the need to protect the fundamental rights of the poor and minorities. Stating that Communists have long been fighting for the rights of the poor, he said the sight of the Red Flag gives the poor a sense of reassurance. He urged the Left parties to strive to safeguard the voting rights of the poor and minorities.

The Chief Minister recalled that Communists fought for fair wages for the landless poor and that it was the Congress party that enacted the Minimum Wages Act.

He said while Communists fought for "land to the tiller", the Congress government distributed 24.56 lakh acres of assigned land.

Stating that 10 lakh acres of land are currently in the hands of Adivasis, he said this represents the Congress party's solution to the struggles waged by Communists.

He said the Congress party provided employment through the Employment Guarantee Act, enacted the Food Security Act and addressed every issue raised by the Communists.

The Chief Minister said Sarampally Malla Reddy had dedicated his life to the cause of farmers and termed his demise an irreparable loss to the farming community.

He stated that Malla Reddy was unparalleled in his understanding of farmers' issues and his ability to articulate them with great refinement. He recalled that the late leader fought vigorously for the rights of tenant farmers and for remunerative prices for crops.

Revanth Reddy assured that his government will strive to address agrarian issues by keeping in mind the books Malla Reddy wrote and the causes he championed.

He said after a discussion in the Cabinet, the government will decide on how perpetuate the memory of Malla Reddy.