Telangana Chief Minister KCR announced several sops ahead of Hyderabad municipal elections (archive)
Hyderabad:
Hyderabad households do not need to pay water bills, as long as they consume less than 20,000 liters per month, starting in December, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, or KCR, said on Monday when publishing his manifesto. party before the municipal elections next week.
The Chief Minister said that this would cover about 97 percent of the city’s population.
The Chief Minister also announced sops for various segments, including exemption from the energy fee for those who operate salons without air conditioning and those employed in washing and ironing clothes. It also announced energy rate concessions to cinemas that were forced to close during the Covid pandemic.
Today a government order was issued allowing cinemas, theaters, and multiplexes (exterior containment zones) to reopen with a maximum of 50% seats, provided that the necessary Covid protocol is followed and show times are staggered.
However, more important than the sops, the Chief Minister asked people to be cautious when casting votes and to choose between development and division.
“For the past six years we have given you a peaceful Hyderabad … with development. Do you want to elect someone who creates divisions?” he asked, referring to the BJP opponent.
“There will be curfews, stabbings and violence … (it will) be an unsafe city,” added the chief minister, stating that the BJP believed in a “Hyderabad for the few.” He also highlighted the development of the city under his supervision, noting that it is a city favored by many investors.
“So many multinationals have settled here. Hyderabad is inclusive. Do you want a city where everyone lives in peace or one where you don’t know if your son or husband will return safely?” I ask.
The Chief Minister also said that people of all faiths called Hyderabad home. “That is why we have a Sindhi Colony, a Parsee Ghouta, a Jagannath temple, space for the Malayalis and even those from Bihar,” KCR stated.
Unsurprisingly, the BJP opponent has criticized the manifesto and its promises as a repeat of the 2016 elections; State Minister Kishan Reddy, who is the deputy from Secunderabad, claimed that the manifesto had “disappeared” from the website.
“They didn’t keep their promises. They said they would build two lakhs of two-bedroom houses. What happened to that?” I ask.
Voting for the 150-seat Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will take place between 7 am and 6 pm on December 1. Chief Minister Rao’s ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) won 99 seats in the 2016 elections; the BJP won only four.
This time, however, buoyed by the result of the Assembly vote in Dubbak, the BJP hopes to win many more and gain a space before the 2024 state elections.
The party has already sent senior leader Bhupender Yadav, who led them to a strong victory in Bihar, to lead their charge, and persuaded Jana Sena’s boss, Pawan Kalyan, to campaign on their behalf.
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