Hyderabad: Former minister T Harish Rao alleged that the Congress govt owes ₹66,000 to each person with a disability, accusing it of failing to fulfil promises made to the community. He said the govt had promised a ₹6,000 monthly pension, free bus travel and recruitment to backlog vacancies.Speaking at the Samara Shankharavam meeting held at GSR Convention Hall in Hastinapuram on Saturday, Harish demanded that the Congress govt fulfil its commitments to people with disabilities.“Chief minister Revanth Reddy has not increased the disability pension by even one rupee. In fact, pensions are not being paid regularly. They are paid for one month and stopped the next. In some cases, pensions for three months are pending,” he said.Harish recalled the Congress party’s election promises, including a ₹6,000 monthly pension, free bus travel, reservations in local bodies and filling backlog vacancies.He said Telangana has around 5.11 lakh persons with disabilities and claimed that if the promised ₹6,000 monthly pension had been paid over the past 33 months, each beneficiary would have received around ₹66,000 more.“During the KCR govt, the pension for persons with disabilities was increased from ₹500 to ₹4,016. They were treated with dignity and as members of the family, not merely as voters,” he said.Harish said the BRS govt spent around ₹54,000 crore on Aasara pensions during its 10-year tenure. Of this, about ₹10,300 crore was spent on pensions for persons with disabilities, which were paid regularly every month.He also recalled that the KCR govt provided 5% reservation for persons with disabilities in 2-BHK houses and 4% reservation in education and employment.“Telangana received a national award in 2015 for the effective implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. This reflects the commitment of the previous BRS govt to the welfare of persons with disabilities,” Harish said.The BRS deputy leader alleged that the state govt has funds for beauty pageants, football events, publicity campaigns and other programmes, but not for pensions.Harish also claimed that the state govt has sold govt land worth around ₹30,000 crore during its tenure.“Govt lands are being sold, and valuable public assets are being handed over. There is money for all this, but none for persons with disabilities. This shows the priorities of the Revanth govt,” he said.He said the state govt cannot cite financial constraints while spending large sums on contractors and publicity.“If thousands of crores can be paid to major contractors, why can’t the govt pay pensions to persons with disabilities? People have a right to question the govt’s priorities,” Harish said.
