BRS leader T. Harish Rao has accused the Congress government in Telangana of deliberately weakening the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme and alleged that the administration failed to protect the welfare programme even before a court stay was issued.
Speaking to the media, Harish Rao questioned the government’s claim that the scheme was stopped because of the court order. He said the number of beneficiaries had already declined significantly under the Congress government.
According to Harish Rao, 2,31,371 marriages received financial assistance under the scheme during 2021-22 under the previous BRS government. He claimed that the number fell to around 1.58 lakh in 2024-25 and further declined to about 86,000 in 2025-26, with expenditure of approximately Rs 870 crore.
Harish Rao questioned why the number of beneficiaries had fallen despite population growth and alleged that the government had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation.
He also criticised the government’s handling of the court case, alleging that although the court granted 30 days to file a counter, the government did not submit it in time. He questioned whether the delay contributed to the court’s stay on the scheme and demanded that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy explain the government’s position.
The BRS leader further asked why the government did not immediately challenge the single-judge order before a division bench. He claimed that the government began discussing an appeal and affidavit only after the BRS launched protests over the issue.
Harish Rao also raised questions over the alleged fee paid to senior Supreme Court lawyer Siddharth Luthra, claiming that the government was spending Rs 50 lakh per day on legal representation in political cases. He questioned why similar legal attention was not given to the Kalyana Lakshmi case, which affects beneficiaries from SC, ST, BC and minority communities.
Harish Rao said the issue reflected what he described as a difference between the welfare approach of the previous KCR government and the present Congress administration. He alleged that the Congress government was attempting to dilute welfare schemes introduced after the formation of Telangana.
He said people were closely observing the government’s handling of Kalyana Lakshmi and alleged that the scheme was being weakened due to political motives. The Congress government has yet to respond to all of the allegations made by Harish Rao.