With lakhs of tonnes of paddy yet to be bought from farmers in Telangana, the state government rushed a delegation to Delhi to seek a written assurance that the central government would procure all of the remaining produce.
The TRS government in Telangana has nearly reached the current target of 60 lakh tonnes set by Delhi, and the central government has shown little inclination in procuring more parboiled rice.
The issue flared up hostilities between TRS and BJP, who accused each other of inaction.
TRS holds protests – Minister Harish Rao poses questions for the BJP
As BJP leaders continue to question the state government on why the paddy is not being procured from the farmers, the ruling TRS has retaliated by holding protests on its own – against the central government.
Minister Harish Rao, who participated in the protests today, called BJP an anti-farmer party.
Addressing the local farmers and TRS cadre, the Minister explained the roles played by the local bodies, state, and central governments. He said that the central government is responsible for food safety, and it should buy the farm produce from states.
Harish Rao ripped through the BJP state leadership and questioned their leaders Bandi Sanjay and Kishen Reddy if their party had provided 24-hour electricity in any of the states where they were in power.
Mr. Harish Rao said that the farmers did not get loans during the previous Congress government, but KCR gave farmers thousands of Rupees to help with their expenses.
So far, TRS has spent 50,000 crore rupees for Rythu Bandhu (cash transfer to farmers) alone, he said. Moreover, the state government has spent 1,50,000 crores on irrigation projects, building substations, setting up transformers, etc., and managed to get Godavari water to Gajwel, Minister Harish Rao said.
Accusing the BJP of hatching a scheme to defame the state government, Mr. Harish called on the farmers to teach them a lesson.
BJP has done nothing for the state, the Minister said. Instead, they gave Lower Sileru power station and 7 Mandals to Andhra Pradesh and are now giving Singareni coal to private parties, he said.
Accusing BJP of being only corporate-friendly, Minister Harish wanted to know how a central minister continues to hold on to power when a special investigation team has already found that the Minister’s son killed farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri with a deliberate plan.
BJP is increasing the fertilizer prices and asking that electricity meters be set up at farms, the Minister accused.