In Poll-Bound Telangana, Rahul Gandhi Plays Monthly Pension Card To Woo Voters Rahul Gandhi also promised “Podu land for tribals” if the Congress is elected to power in Telangana. Podu is a traditional system of cultivation used by tribes in India, whereby different areas of jungle forest are cleared by burning each year to provide land for crops.

Sounding a poll Bugle in Telangana, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday announced the ‘Cheyutha’ scheme which guarantees a monthly pension of Rs 4000 for the elderly, single women, widows and the differently-abled if it comes to power in the state. “We are bringing about a historic scheme called Cheyutha. This will guarantee a Rs 40, 000 monthly pension for women, senior citizens in Telangana. We also promise to give Pothu land to the adivasis,” Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a public meeting at Khammam. Telangana elections are scheduled to be held later this year and Congress is leaving no stone unturned to woo voters.

In a dig at the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Rahul Gandhi proposed a new name for the party, calling it the “BJP Rishtedar Samiti,” drawing a comparison between the BRS and the BJP government at the national level. Rahul Gandhi criticized the BRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, accusing him of shattering the dreams of farmers, laborers, and the oppressed in the state.

“TRS has changed its came to BRS, the BJP Rishtedar Samiti,” Rahul Gandhi said speaking at the Telangana Janagarjana Sabha at Khamamm. Gandhi said, “Telangana was a dream, a dream of farmers, labourers and the oppressed. But in the last nine years, the BRS has shattered that dream. The CM thinks he is the king of Telangana. CM KCR thinks that he is the king and owns Telangana.” Rahul Gandhi also highlighted alleged “corruption and land appropriation by the BRS, asserting that the Congress party would return the land to its rightful owners once in power”.