‘Neglect, broken promises, and failing schools’: BJP ramps up pre-poll offensive

The BJP has announced a major public outreach programme across all mandals and villages to highlight the alleged neglect of local bodies by the BRS and current Congress governments, ahead of the forthcoming elections.

State BJP president and former MLC N. Ramchander Rao will lead the initiative by holding round-the-clock meetings with various stakeholders in Ranga Reddy district on August 21–22. Other leaders will soon follow suit in the remaining districts, said general secretary K. Venkateshwarlu.

Party cadres will organise rallies in all 566 mandals and district headquarters later this month to raise awareness about unfulfilled government promises and the neglect of civic infrastructure. Memoranda detailing pending civic works will be submitted to mandal revenue officers and district collectors, he added.

The programme was finalised during a meeting of top office-bearers chaired by Mr. Rao at the State office. Preparatory workshops for the elections have also been conducted across districts, he said in a press release.

Neglect of education sector

In a separate press conference, SC Morcha national general secretary S. Kumar accused the Congress government of gross neglect of the education sector, despite Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy holding the portfolio.

Citing what he claimed to be official data, Mr. Kumar said 5,432 schools lack electricity, 2,811 have no toilets and 5,121 have unusable toilet facilities. Additionally, 6,459 schools have no toilet provision at all.

He further stated that 9,467 schools lack computers, 2,097 have no students and 5,090 operate with just one teacher. “It is shameful that a government which claims to prioritise education has left the future of 80,000 students hanging in the balance,” he said.

Pending fee reimbursement dues amounting to over ₹7,000 crore have jeopardised the careers of SC/ST/BC students, as colleges are refusing to release certificates. Around 1.21 lakh certificates are currently being withheld, he said and demanded the government pay up the arrears to save the students careers, he added.