TRS’s Dalita Bandhu scheme criticised

It is ad hoc and reactive to political situations, says BJP’s Muralidhar Rao

The Telangana government’s income support scheme for farmers, the Rythu Bandhu scheme, received universal acclaim and was even replicated at the Central level, but its scheme for Scheduled Caste communities, the Dalita Bandhu scheme, has led to criticism from all quarters of the political spectrum, not least because the pilot project has been launched in a bypoll bound Assembly seat. The Huzurabad Assembly seat was vacated after former Health Minister in the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)-led government, Eatala Rajendra, quit and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a couple of months ago. Belonging to the Dalit community, his exit created some discomfort in the TRS as to its appeal to Dalit communities. Following Mr. Rajendra’s exit, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhara Rao wasted no time in announcing the Dalita Bandhu scheme, touted as one of the biggest direct cash benefit schemes in the country, the pilot project for which would be launched in the Huzurabad Assembly seat, bypolls for which are due.