Poll panel asks Telangana to defer Rythu Bharosa payments until after elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday said that Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by publicly speaking about the disbursement of payments under the "Rythu Bharosa" scheme.

The poll panel asked the Congress-led Telangana government to defer the disbursement of the balance instalment under the scheme for the Rabi season of 2023 till the completion of Lok Sabha elections in the state.

In a letter addressed to the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer, the Election Commission highlighted that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had breached the model code of conduct by announcing during public speeches that the scheme's payouts would be disbursed on or before May 9.

"In the above premise and clear violation of Model Code of Conduct by Revanth Reddy, President Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee and star campaigner and Chief Minister, the Commission has directed that disbursement of balance instalment under the Rythu Bharosa scheme for Rabi season of 2023 will be effected only after completion of poll in the state of Telangana on 13.05.2024," the Election Commission said.

While addressing an election rally last week, Revanth Reddy assured that the Congress government in Telangana would implement the Rythu Bharosa scheme for Rabi season of 2023 for all farmers of the state on May 9. He had also dared BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao for a debate on the scheme.

“If I fail to implement the scheme, I am ready to rub my nose to the ground and KCR should do the same thing if the Congress government implements the scheme to all farmers by May 8,” Reddy said while addressing a public meeting in Kothagudem.

KCR said that "Rythu Bandhu", which was implemented during the BRS regime, was ignored after Congress government came to power in Telangana.

Notably, all 17 Lok Sabha seats of Telangana will go to poll in the fourth phase on May 13.