Rahul Gandhi to announce poll promises for Telangana farmers

Hyderabad, May 6 (IANS) The Congress party will unveil its plans for Telangana's agriculture sector at the public meeting to be addressed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Warangal on Friday evening.

After failing to capture power twice (2014 and 2018) despite claiming credit for carving out the separate state, the Congress will begin its preparations for next year's Assembly elections with the 'Kisan Sangharsh Sabha'.

Addressing his first public meeting in Telangana after 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul will announce what the party intends to do for farmers and the agriculture sector if voted to power in 2023.

The opposition party has made elaborate arrangements for the meeting at Arts and Science College Grounds at Hanamkonda. The party expects five lakh people to attend the meeting.

Rahul will console families of farmers who committed suicide and interact with them to know the reasons for the extreme step.

He is likely to make certain announcements during the speech on what Congress would do for farmers if it comes to power in the next year's polls.

Two separate stages have been installed for artists and the families of deceased farmers. The venue and the roads leading to it have been decked with cutouts of Rahul, party president Sonia Gandhi, flexis, banners and flags.

Rahul is scheduled to arrive in Hyderabad on a two-day visit to Telangana at 4.50 p.m. on Friday. After landing at Hyderabad International Airport at Shamshabad, he will leave for Hanamkonda by helicopter.

After addressing the public meeting, he will reach Hyderabad by road and have a night halt at a five-star hotel in Banjara Hills.

The next day, he will pay tributes to former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Damodaram Sanjivayya by garlanding his statue. In the afternoon, he will have a meeting with state party leaders at Gandhi Bhavan, state party headquarters.

The Congress MP is likely to discuss the electoral strategy with senior leaders including central leader in-charge of party affairs in Telangana Manickam Tagore, state party chief A. Revanth Reddy and others.

The Congress leader will also meet the party coordinators who conducted digital membership enrollment drive. The party claims to have achieved the target of 40 lakh members.

Rahul will not be visiting Osmania University as the university authorities have denied permission for the same. Though some NSUI leaders had approached the Telangana High Court, seeking direction to the university authorities to allow Rahul to visit the campus and interact with students, the court refused to pass any orders and left the decision to the university.

The university vice-chancellor made it clear that the governing body has already taken a decision not to allow any political activity on the campus.

The Congress leaders, however, maintained that Rahul's proposed visit was not political as he just wanted to visit the campus and interact with students to know their problems.

The opposition party has alleged that the university authorities refused permission at the behest of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

It is not clear if Rahul Gandhi will visit Chanchalguda jail to meet NSUI leaders who were arrested for staging a protest at Osmania University on May 1 over denial of permission to the party leader's visit.

Revanth Reddy and other leaders called on the director general of the prison department on Thursday, seeking permission for Rahul to visit Chanchalguda Jail to meet NSUI leaders.

The Congress MP is scheduled to return to Delhi from Shamshabad Airport at 5.50 p.m. on Saturday.