The Congress had promised daily public hearings (Prajadarbar) at the Chief Minister’s camp office in its Abhayahastam manifesto. Instead, they renamed the initiative as ‘Prajavani’ and significantly scaled it down.
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy attended the Prajavani program only once, and that too for just 10 minutes, to accept petitions from the public. This has raised serious doubts about his sincerity in addressing people’s grievances.
Ministers, who seem to have enough time for meetings at Gandhi Bhavan, have failed to show up for Prajavani sessions, further reflecting their lack of commitment.
Prajavani is now being run by outsourced staff, with neither the Chief Minister nor the ministers directly involved. What was promised as a daily program is now held only twice a week. Even during these limited sessions, people leave disappointed, as their petitions are often ignored or rejected outright.
As of December 9, 2024, Prajavani received 82,955 petitions. Of these, officials categorized only 43,272 as valid grievances, rejecting nearly half of the submissions as outside the program’s scope.
According to the government’s definition, grievances include complaints or dissatisfaction caused by perceived injustice, unfair treatment, or violations of rights.
These cover issues like denial of benefits under government schemes, failure to implement policies, and non-provision of services promised under the Citizen Charter.
However, important issues like land disputes, rehabilitation for displaced families, unemployment, and unfulfilled election promises are excluded from this definition.
Of the 43,272 grievances accepted, officials claim to have resolved 27,215. However, reports from the ground reveal that many issues remain unresolved, with files being closed arbitrarily without real solutions.
People complain that even when their grievances are ignored, the files are marked as ‘closed,’ leaving them feeling unheard and helpless.
Citizens who travel to Hyderabad with high hopes of justice through Prajavani are returning disillusioned, as their efforts and expenses yield no results.
What was supposed to be a platform for resolving public grievances has turned into a symbol of neglect and exploitation.
Harish Rao said, “The Congress government’s so-called ‘PrajaPallana’ has only brought suffering to the people.
Their flagship program, Prajavani, has proven to be nothing more than an empty promise. The first major assurance in their manifesto has been reduced to words without action, leaving the people of Telangana disappointed and betrayed.”