Telengana congress alleges, KCR did not release funds due to gramme panchayats, 60 sarpanches died

On Monday, the Telanagana branch of the Congress made some serious accusations against Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, claiming that the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo had undermined the sarpanch system and that 60 sarpanches had committed suicide because the state government had failed to give the gramme panchayats the money they were owed.

Sarpanches will regain their former glory, according to Revanth Reddy, President of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC), only if the BRS is defeated and KCR is removed from office.

Reddy stated during a protest gathering sponsored by the TPCC and the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Raj Sanghtan: ‘A sarpanch is respected as the first citizen of the village. As many as 60 sarpanches have committed suicide (under pressure) in Telangana due to non-release of funds by the state government.’

The TPCC president accused the KCR-led government of diverting Rs 35,000 crore that belonged to panchayats in the state while discussing the ‘plight’ of the sarpanches.

The Congress leader claimed that money allocated by the 15th Finance Commission that was deposited in sarpanches’ accounts had been stolen by the state government and that some of the people’s representatives had borrowed on interest to use their own money for the development of their respective villages.

According to Reddy, who claimed that the funds due to the sarpanches were diverted to pay contractors, ‘as the sarpanches are not getting funds even after two or three years, some of them took the extreme step of ending their lives while some pledged ‘mangalsutras’ of their wives.’

The Congress leader claimed that the Telangana chief minister tried to hinder the party by giving the police orders to prevent the dharna that the party organised in support of the sarpanches. ‘With the high court’s approval, we are holding a protest today, and many sarpanches have joined our dharna.’

Reddy demanded that money owed to the gramme panchayats be released immediately and that the families of each sarpanch who had already died receive compensation of Rs. 1 crore.