HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday alleged that “vote theft” is taking place across the country, including in Telangana.
Addressing the gathering at the Tank Bund, where he laid the foundation stone for a statue of Sardar Sarvai Papanna Goud, the chief minister said: “Nobody has the right to steal votes. Conspiracies are happening in Telangana too. People should verify whether their votes are valid.” Revanth announced that he, along with Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, would join Rahul Gandhi’s “Voter Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar.
He accused the BJP of manipulating election results in Maharashtra and claimed that one crore bogus votes were added within four months between the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. Revanth also referred to the deletion of 65 lakh votes in Bihar, accusing the Election Commission of India of failing to address questions raised by the Congress.
The chief minister also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy of blocking his government’s move to raise the BC quota to 42%. “The two bills passed by the Assembly to provide 42% quota to BCs have been pending before the Centre for five months,” he stated.
“There are no religion-based reservations in this country. Let BJP and BRS leaders prove that even 0.1 per cent of reservations for Muslims exists in the bills sent to the President,” Revanth challenged.
He pointed out that Muslim reservations have been implemented in BJP-ruled states since the 1970s.
The chief minister also criticised the 2018 Panchayat Raj Act, introduced by his predecessor K Chandrasekhar Rao, for capping reservations at 50%, calling it a hurdle in implementing higher quotas.
Asserting that his government was committed to implementing promises made by Rahul Gandhi, Revanth said conducting the caste census was one of the main assurances given by the Congress.
