The Hyderabad High Court the other day, struck down a petition filed against the Second Installment of the Raithu Bandhu Scheme which was supposed to happen in November. The complainant told the court that this amounts to bribing the voters and should be stalled immediately but the court refused to entertain the complaint and struck down the petition.
The court asked the petitioner how it can stop the scheme while even the election schedule is yet to come. The Election Commission of India has almost answered it instantly. The EC asked the government not to take any policy decisions and clarified that Election Code of Conduct will immediately come into force when the Assembly is dissolved.
The Election Commission also confirmed that the code of conduct will be in effect until the new assembly is elected. It has to be seen if Election Commission will stall the second installment of Raithu Bandhu scheme or if the Telangana Government will try to escape saying that it is not a new scheme to come under the code of conduct ambit.
The state government is approximately spending 12000 Crore on this scheme which is benefitting 58 Lakh Farmers in the newest state of the country. This is expected to have a massive impact on those families who received the assistance and that will translate into votes in the coming elections. The state government is going to give 4000 Rupees per acre per crop as the Cash Subsidy.
