Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday, March 8, launched the Indira Mahila Shakti Policy-2025, and promised to allocate 33% of tickets to women candidates in the next Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, as the women’s quota bill had been passed by both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
“As your brother, I will take the responsibility of ensuring your victory so that you can represent the country and state as MPs, MLAs, and MLCs,” he said. “You brought Indiramma Rajyam. So, take Indira Gandhi as an inspiration and improve your leadership skills,” the CM was quoted as saying by The Times of India. The announcement was made while addressing a gathering at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad.
He also criticized the previous K. Chandrasekhar Rao-led government, pointing out that the BRS government did not have even one woman minister in its first term. Contrasting this with the Congress government, he highlighted that the present administration has two women ministers—Seethakka and Konda Surekha. “You saw the 10-year BRS rule and the discrimination meted out to you. The Congress government has vowed to make one crore women financially independent,” he said.
As part of the initiative, the government flagged off buses purchased by self-help groups (SHGs) and sanctioned financial aid to boost their businesses. The CM also virtually laid the foundation stone for solar power generation plants to be set up by the SHGs.
Addressing the women, Revanth Reddy promised interest-free loans worth thousands of crores and welfare initiatives to support one crore women in becoming ‘koteeswarulu’ (crorepatis) through their entrepreneurship. He insisted that this initiative would help the Congress government transform the state into a $1 trillion economy.
He also handed over a cheque worth Rs 22,794 crore to 2,82,552 SHGs in the state. Additionally, Rs 44.80 crore was provided under loan insurance and accident insurance schemes for SHG members.
The event saw the participation of Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka), Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, and several other dignitaries.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka criticized the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, accusing it of neglecting SHGs over its decade-long rule. He reaffirmed the Congress government’s commitment to providing interest-free loans to SHGs annually. “When we announced ₹20,000 crore interest-free loans per year, the BRS laughed at us. But today, we have exceeded our target within this fiscal year,” he said, according to The Hindu.