Booth-Level Agents Are Congress Party’s Pillars: Bhatti Vikramarka

Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka described booth-level agents (BLAs) as the backbone of the Congress party, saying they play a key role in taking the party’s ideology and government welfare programmes to people at the grassroots.

Bhatti was speaking at a meeting of Congress BLAs from Chintakani mandal held at Nagulavancha village in Khammam district on Sunday. He said the party and government would continue to stand by its workers and ensure that grassroots-level functionaries receive due recognition.

Praising the work of BLAs in Chintakani, Bhatti said their performance and commitment were stronger than those seen in several other mandals. Describing the Congress as a “mother” to its workers, he thanked party members who were working to strengthen the organisation and urged them to ensure that government welfare schemes reached every eligible household.

He said the government was working to accelerate development in Madhira constituency, which he claimed had fallen behind during the previous decade. “We are racing against time” to complete in the current five-year term the development that should have been achieved over the past 15 years, he said.

Bhatti said pending works related to schools, roads and hospitals would be taken up on priority and completed quickly over the next two years.

Highlighting the government’s welfare initiatives, he said around 1.06 crore families across Telangana were receiving six kilograms of fine rice per person every month free of cost. He also cited free bus travel for women, revival of DWCRA loans, a target of ₹1 lakh crore in loans and free electricity up to 200 units under Gruha Jyothi.

He said the government had raised the Rajiv Aarogyasri health coverage limit from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh. The Indiramma Dima insurance scheme, providing ₹5 lakh of free insurance cover to every family, would be launched on November 19, he added.

In education, Bhatti said fee reimbursement arrears had been cleared and funds were being deposited directly into students’ accounts. He said around 27 lakh students in government schools were being provided free hot breakfast, milk and ragi java.

He also said Young India Integrated Residential Schools were being developed on 25 acres in every Assembly constituency, with infrastructure planned to meet international standards.

For farmers, the government was implementing loan waiver measures along with ₹12,000 per acre in investment support, Bhatti said.

He urged Congress workers to strengthen their presence at the village level and help communicate the government’s programmes directly to the people.