In a major political escalation, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has declared a comprehensive statewide mobilisation against the central government's new rural job guarantee scheme, known as the GRAM G Bill. The Congress party plans to take its opposition from the legislative assembly down to every village in the state.
Massive Public Outreach Planned
The Chief Minister announced that he will address nine large public meetings across the state's nine erstwhile districts, starting from February 3. The first rally will be held in the undivided Mahabubnagar district. Each of these gatherings is expected to draw crowds of up to one lakh people.
Revanth Reddy made the announcement while addressing an extended meeting of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC). He revealed that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will participate in one of the protest meetings, specifically in Mulugu district, which is represented in the state cabinet by Panchayat Raj Minister Seethakka.
Village-Level Resolutions and Leadership Structure
The campaign involves a detailed action plan finalised by the All India Congress Committee (AICC). A key component is the adoption of resolutions opposing the legislation in all 12,702 villages of Telangana between January 20 and 30.
The Chief Minister stressed that this is not just the duty of village sarpanches but of every MLA. He has directed TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud and AICC in-charge for Telangana, Meenakshi Natarajan, to appoint ministers as party in-charges for 15 parliamentary segments, excluding Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
National, state, and district-level leaders will be assigned responsibility for one mandal each, with Revanth Reddy himself taking personal charge of one mandal. Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy will coordinate the overall programme, while Mahesh Goud, Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, and Meenakshi Natarajan will monitor the campaign.
Allegations Against the Centre and Political Stance
The Chief Minister accused the Modi government of attempting to weaken the rights of the poor and agricultural labourers through the new legislation. He described the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as a globally recognised programme that brought transformative change and alleged the BJP is trying to undermine it.
Revanth Reddy claimed that after failing to secure 400 seats to amend the Constitution, the BJP is now attempting to curtail people's rights through other means. He argued that diluting the right to vote would affect access to Aadhaar, ration cards, and welfare schemes, effectively amounting to a return to bonded labour for the poor.
The Congress will not relent until the Prime Minister apologises to the nation and restores the employment guarantee scheme, particularly in the Telugu states, he declared. Linking the protest to upcoming municipal elections, Revanth Reddy urged party cadres to ensure a Congress clean sweep to gain control of local bodies, which he said is essential for development over the next eight years of state governance.
