· Shabbir Ali backs IKPVOA employees’ strike, joins protest
Kamareddy, April 27: Former Minister and ex-Leader of Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council Mohammad Ali Shabbir slammed the BRS Government for not providing assistance or giving specific assurance to thousands of farmers who lost their crops due to untimely rains.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress party office in Kamareddy town on Thursday, Shabbir Ali brought attention to the plight of farmers who have lost their crops and livelihoods due to recent untimely rains. He noted that farmers are in distress, with their hopes washed away alongside their crops, and criticized the government for not providing assistance or assurance during this difficult time.
Shabbir Ali further condemned the State Government and ruling party leaders for celebrating the BRS party’s formation day with grand festivities, while thousands of farmers are left to suffer. He argued that the BRS leaders are not behaving like the public representatives they should be and that the celebrations are meaningless given the party’s failures in the past nine years.
The former minister questioned the BRS government’s achievements, citing unfulfilled promises such as land distribution to poor Dalit families, job creation for the unemployed, and KG to PG free education. Further, he said students did not get Fee Reimbursement or Scholarships, Tribals were yet to get rights over Podu lands and farmers did not get compensation for the lands acquired for various projects.
Shabbir highlighted the lack of progress in providing housing for the poor, and the unfulfilled promise to waive off crop loans up to Rs. 1 lakh. He criticized the BRS government for not releasing funds for social welfare schemes like Abhaya Hastam, Shri Nidhi, and interest-free loans. He also noted that the state government has not provided interest-free loans to women’s groups for the past four years, while DWCRA groups have been weakened and several schemes for women have been cancelled.
The Congress leader voiced concerns over the skyrocketing prices of essentials, causing panic among citizens. He stated that the common people have not benefited from the formation of Telangana, with only the KCR family, BRS ministers, and MLAs profiting from the situation. He accused Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao of looting thousands of crores in the name of the Kaleswaram project and failing to complete pending irrigation projects. He also criticized the government’s handling of job notifications, which have been affected by paper leaks, and Minister KTR for avoiding responsibility. KCR’s daughter allegedly earned money through the liquor mafia which shocked the entire nation today, he said.
“Despite so many failures, BRS is shamelessly celebrating the plenary session,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Shabbir Ali expressed support for the indefinite strike call given by the Telangana IKPVOA Employees Union demanding immediate resolution of long-pending problems.
Shabbir Ali, along with other Congress leaders, visited the strike camp at the RDO office in Kamareddy town to express their solidarity and support.
Speaking on the occasion, Shabbir Ali said that nearly 18,000 IKP VOAs were on strike for the last four days seeking resolution of just demands. However, he said that the State Government did not respond to their demands which should be accepted immediately. He said that the minimum wages of IKP VOA employees should be increased to Rs. 26,000 and the PRC must be implemented. He also demanded that the wages should be directly deposited into the personal accounts of employees.
Shabbir Ali said that IKP VOAs were presently getting a daily wage of just Rs 150. He asked Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao to explain how the IKP VOA employees should survive with this meagre amount.
Referring to Labour Minister Ch Malla Reddy who often claims that he has worked hard to prosper and establish engineering colleges, he asked the minister to explain how these IKPVOAs could progress in their lives by earning just Rs 150 per day.
He alleged that the BRS leaders were fully mired in corruption and supported all corrupt activities. Without naming anyone, he said many ministers have gone to Delhi in support of a woman leader of BRS facing serious charges by the Enforcement Directorate. He said the BRS leaders tried to influence the authorities in the name of protest for the Women Reservation Bill. The ED action was even referred to as the attack on a Telangana woman. But the same BRS leaders were not looking at the problems being faced by women VOA employees, he said.
Stating that the Congress party was all set to return to power in Telangana by this year-end, Shabbir Ali said that all the fair demands of IKP VOA employees would be accepted and their problems would be resolved.
DCC President Kailasa Srinivasa Rao, Pandla Raju, Gudem Srinivas Reddy, Karangula Ashok Reddy, Aireni Sandeep, Gudugula Srinu, Gone Srinivas, Shankar and other leaders participated in this programme.
