BJP TS Chief launches RTI blitzkrieg

By Our Special Correspondent

Telangana unit of Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to make use of Right to Information (RTI) as a weapon to expose the failed promises of the TRS government of Chief Minister K. Chandra Sekhar Rao in the last eight years.

The Telangana BJP has decided to use the Right to Information (RTI) mechanism to expose the alleged failed promises of the KCR government. The party cadres from districts and Yuva Morcha activists have also been encouraged to file RTI petitions, according to the BJP party statement.

Karimnagar MP and state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other BJP leaders over 100 queries under the Right to Information Act, the party statement said on Wednesday.

While it’s true that information is power, for BJP State president Bandi Sanjay, information can also be the stepping stone to power. And what better way to obtain information than the RTI Act?

All these RTI queries are raised with the CMO, Principal Secretary's Office, Finance, Revenue, ACB, Social Welfare, Panchayati Raj, Irrigation, Education and Health departments.

Out of the hundreds of RTI applications filed by Sanjay on June 28, there are queries related to the assurances made by Chief Minister KCR and how many of them are fulfilled. Besides, Sanjay Kumar also asked about the expenditure on construction of Pragati Bhavan and the number of days the Chief Minister was present in his official residence.

Bandi Sanjay’s RTI queries also related to education, health, employment, SC/ST welfare and revenue-related issues. These RTI queries have been addressed to the public information officers of various departments, seeking detailed replies.

Other questions were related to the filling of job vacancies in various departments, information regarding subsidies provided to farmers and various caste-based communities, construction and disbursement of the free double bedroom houses for the poor and pension benefits for the aged, widowed and physically handicapped. In total, information on 88 subjects was sought.

Through these queries, the state BJP leaders sought to know the status of various promises and assurances made by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao in the legislative assembly, legislative council, upon visits to the districts and in 2014 and 2018 TRS manifestos.

“We have decided to make use of RTI as a weapon to expose the failed promises of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government led by Rao in the last eight years,” a party leader said adding that the RTI applications by Bandi were filed on June 28.

Most of the questions were related to the filling of vacancies in various departments as suggested by the Biswal Committee and other employment opportunities provided. The TBJP is also demanding to know about “the crores of rupees the Rao government has spent for publicity blitz across the country.”