2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Will ensure 60 tickets to women in next Assembly polls: CM Revanth Reddy
HYDERABAD: Reiterating that his government remains committed to empowering women, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday said that he would take the responsibility, on behalf of the Congress, of giving 60 tickets to women in the next Assembly elections by which time the Women's Reservation Act will come into force.
Following delimitation, likely in 2026, the Assembly strength will increase to at least 153 seats.
The chief minister said, 'Soon, women's reservations will come into force in the Assembly. Seats in the Telangana Assembly will increase to 153 after delimitation. Of them, as per 33 per cent reservations, 51 seats will be reserved for women. I will take responsibility to allocate a total of 60 seats to women.'
At present, there are nine women MLAs in the Telangana Assembly — six from Congress and three from BRS. AIMIM, BJP and CPI have no women members. There are two women members of the Cabinet — Konda Surekha and Danasari Anasuya.
The chief minister was speaking at the launch of Vana Mahotsavam-2025, a mass tree plantation drive at Prof. Jayashankar Telangana Agriculture University in Hyderabad. The government has set a target of planting 18 crore saplings under the programme.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to plant a sapling in the name of one's mother, Revanth urged mothers to plant saplings in the name of their children. 'Nature will protect us if we take care of nature,' he said.
The chief minister also appealed to people to plant at least two saplings per household, stating that Telangana would become a green zone if trees were nurtured like children.
Listing government initiatives for women, Revanth said the state provided Rs 21,000 crore in loans to self-help groups this year. He noted that women are being encouraged to set up solar plants and run government schools.
The government is providing free RTC bus travel for women and has supported them in leasing 1,000 buses to RTC, making them bus owners.
Space has also been provided for women's groups to market their products at Hitec City, the chief minister said.
Revanth reiterated his government's target of making one crore women millionaires and said self-help groups would also be formed in urban areas. He said efforts were being made to empower women in all fields and ensure they lead a life of self-respect in 'Indiramma rule'.
Forest and Environment Minister Konda Surekha and PCCF Suvarna were among those present.
