The Telanaga Congress alleged some 60 sarpanches have died by suicide as the KCR-led state government did not release the funds that are due to the gram panchayats.
Hyderabad ,UPDATED: Jan 10, 2023 04:22 IST
Telanagana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has been accused of diverting funds meant for gram panchayats in the state. (File photo: PTI)
By Abdul Basheer: The Congress’s Telanagana wing levelled some serious allegations against Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday claiming that the supremo of the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has weakened the sarpanch system and some 60 sarpanches have died by suicide as the state government did not release the funds that are due to the gram panchayats.
President of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Revanth Reddy said the sarpanches will get their former glory only if the BRS is defeated and KCR is deprived of power.
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Speaking at a protest meet organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Sanghtan under the aegis of the TPCC, Reddy said, “A sarpanch is respected as the first citizen of the village. As many as 60 sarpanches have committed suicide (under pressure) in Telangana due to non-release of funds by the state government.”
Talking about the ‘plight’ of the sarpanches, the TPCC president charged the KCR-led government of diverting Rs 35,000 crore belonging to panchayats in the state.
Claiming that funds allotted by the 15th Finance Commission which were deposited in sarpanches’ accounts have been diverted by the state government, the Congress leader said some of the people’s representatives have spent their own money for the development of their respective villages by borrowing on interest.
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“As the sarpanches are not getting funds even after two or three years, some of them took the extreme step of ending their lives while some pledged ‘mangalsutras’ of their wives,” alleged Reddy claiming that the funds pending to the sarpanches were diverted to pay contractors.
The Congress leader alleged that the Telangana CM tried creating obstacles for the party by issuing instructions to the police to not allow the dharna that the party staged in solidarity with the sarpanches. “We are staging a protest today with the permission of the high court and many sarpanches have supported our dharna.”
Reddy demanded that funds due to the gram panchayats should be released immediately and demanded a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the family of every sarpanch who has died so far.
(With inputs from PTI)
