Paddy procurement delays: KTR warns of agitation if Revanth Reddy government fails to address farmer woes

With no officers available to procure paddy from the farmers, they are unsure of what steps to take next. “It has been almost 25 days since procurement stopped,” he said.

Also Read: KCR demands ₹25,000 per acre for Telangana farmers who incurred crop loss

‘Agricultural sector in deep crisis’

KTR said that since the Lok Sabha elections in Telangana are now over, the chief minister should turn his attention to the distressing situation the farmers are facing at the procurement centres.

The government should ensure that farmers receive the right price without millers slashing it, using moisture content as a ruse, he said.

“In Rajanna Sircilla district, farmers are staging protests with their paddy, seeking immediate procurement,” he further said.

He warned that BRS would take to the streets if the government did not act immediately on this crucial issue as it is likely to push the agricultural sector into a deep crisis.

“The BRS will stand by the farmers in this hour of crisis,” he said, adding that the party would fight for the initiation of steps for immediate procurement, payment of bonus of ₹500 per quintal, and waiver of crop loans upto ₹2 lakh as promised by the Congress.

Also Read: Cong government in T’gana rejoins PM Fasal Bima Yojana scheme to ‘safeguard farmers’

‘Failure of Congress to meet expectations’

Referring to the upcoming by-election from the Warangal, Khammam, Nalgonda Graduates’ constituency, KTR said that it was BRS’ sitting seat and this time too, it would win it hands down.

“Our candidate A Rakesh Reddy will win the seat effortlessly as the graduates in the constituency would support him since he is a graduate from BITS-Pilani and pursued further education in the US,” he said.

KTR appealed to the graduates to keep in mind how the Congress had failed to meet their expectations after coming to power in the state.

The Congress had promised a mega DSC for filling 50,000 teachers’ posts. They planned to reissue the same notification that the BRS had released in the past.

The Congress had promised to release a job Calendar every year, but no one was talking about it anymore.

He appealed to the graduates in the constituency to vote for Rakesh Reddy keeping in mind the services provided by the BRS when it was in power.

The BRS had set up one medical college in each district, provided the highest pay scales to the teachers and employees, and filled two lakh government jobs.

“The Congress government had not filled even one vacancy, but was claiming that it had issued 30,000 appointment letters. In fact, it was the BRS government that had finalized the recruitment before leaving office, and Revanth Reddy had issued those letters to the job applicants,” he said.

Also Read: BRS, BJP claim credit for Telangana CM’s farm loan waiver order

‘CM should focus on addressing issues’

KTR said Telangana state now needs voices that can question the ruling party to prevent any injustice being done to the people.

“What would you get if you elect a blackmailer or someone who frequently switches parties ? We have seen Nayeem in Nalgonda. If the voters support the present Congress candidate, Teenmar Mallanna, it would be like creating another Nayeem,” he said.

Taking a serious exception to Revanth Reddy blaming the power utility staff for erratic power supply, KTR said that during the 10- year rule of the BRS, the then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had never made the employees scapegoats.

“We have an emotional bonding with the employees. That is why we had never said they were at fault,” he said. The incumbent chief minister, however, was blaming the employees to cover his incompetence in supplying uninterrupted power, he continued.

“He is targeting the power department staff who have been working round the clock. He should keep in mind that the employees were instrumental in augmenting the installed capacity from 7,700 mw to 20,000 mw in the state during the BRS rule,” he said.

He advised Revanth Reddy to bear in mind that he was not the leader of the Opposition and that he should not keep criticising the BRS. He should rather pay attention to addressing the issues.

Also Read: Regional parties would play a key role post LS elections: KCR

‘Cheap publicity to mislead people’

Referring to the Congress broadside against the BRS that it had left pile of public debt in its wake, KTR said that even RBI had said that the actual public debt of the state was only ₹3.87 lakh crore and not ₹7 lakh crore as the Congress is making out.

“This is cheap publicity, intended to mislead the people. The chief minister should tender an unconditional apology to the people for furnishing wrong statistics on public debt,” he said.

KTR also sought to turn the tables against Congress by asking the Revanth Reddy government why it was going in for massive borrowings after saying that borrowing itself was a mistake that the previous government had done.

“We had raised loans to invest in infrastructure, roads and projects and even then Revanth Reddy had found fault with us,” he said.

“The government now is saying that it was going in for borrowings to repay the debt which is nothing but pulling the wool over the eyes of the people,” KTR added.

(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)