Lok Sabha polls: Election Commission halts Telangana’s welfare scheme for farmers

The poll body has further asked the ruling Congress in the state to submit a compliance report on the matter by 5 pm on Tuesday.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday directed the Telangana government to defer disbursement of funds to farmers under Rythu Bharosa scheme till Lok Sabha polls are held in the state on May 13, while maintaining that chief minister A Revanth Reddy has violated the model code of conduct by publicly referring to the payouts in his elections campaigns. The poll body has further asked the ruling Congress in the state to submit a compliance report on the matter by 5 pm on Tuesday.

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Formerly called Rythu Bandhu, the scheme was launched by the then BRS government in May 2018 and later the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government renamed it Rythu Bharosa. Under the scheme, the state government disburses ₹10,000 per acre per year to each farmer at the rate of ₹5,000 per season – Kharif and Rabi. In June 2023, the government paid ₹5,000 per acre to each farmer. However, after EC’s notice, balance instalment for rabi season of 2023 will now be disbursed only after May 13.

In a notice sent to the Telangana chief electoral officer, EC said Reddy had violated the model code of conduct by publicly speaking about the ensuing disbursement under the scheme during a roadshow on May 4.

“Though, Rythu Bandhu is an ongoing scheme and the disbursement of Rabi season 2023 must have been completed by January 2024 according to past precedents. This decision comes in response to an inexplicable and abnormal delay in the disbursement process which usually happens in the months of November and December, coupled with concerns over attempts to politicise the ongoing scheme during the general elections. Such actions are deemed as attempts to influence voters and disturb the level playing field,” the notice said.

“In the above premise and clear violation of Model Code of Conduct by Sh. Revanth Reddy, President, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) and Star Campaigner and Chief Minister, the Commission has directed that disbursement of balance instalment under the Rythu Bharosa scheme for Rabi season of 2023 will be affected only after completion of poll in the State of Telangana on 13.05.2024,” it added.

According to the notice, EC’s direction came a day after one N Venukumar lodged a complaint with the poll body against Reddy’s remarks at a roadshow.

“This decision comes in response to an inexplicable and abnormal delay in the disbursement process which usually happens in the month of November and December, coupled with concerns over attempts to politicise the ongoing scheme during the General Election 2024. Such actions are deemed as attempts to influence voters and disturb the level playing field,” an EC official said on the condition of anonymity.

During the assembly elections in November 2023, the EC had similarly withdrawn permission for disbursement under the scheme due to MCC violations by the then Telangana finance minister T Harish Rao (BRS) who also spoke of the impending disbursement at election rallies. At that time, the Congress had complained to the EC about MCC violation by Rao.

Senior Congress leader and Telangana backward classes minister Ponnam Prabhakar accused the BJP of playing dirty politics in preventing the crediting of Rythu Bandhu amount into the accounts of farmers by lodging a complaint with the Election Commission of India.

In a statement, Prabhakar said the Rythu Bandhu was an ongoing scheme under which money was being credited into the accounts of farmers in a phased manner for the last four months.

“The state government has taken permission from the EC to pay the money to the farmers who could not get the assistance till now. On Monday itself, an amount of ₹900 crore was credited into the accounts of some of the farmers. But the BJP leaders have opposed it on flimsy grounds and moved the EC to get the payment stalled,” he said, adding that the farmers would teach a fitting lesson to the opposition parties.

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