Published Sep 02, 2022 | 12:56 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 02, 2022 | 5:39 PM
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visits a ration shop at Birkoor village in Banswada town in Zaheerabad district on Friday, 2 Spetember. (@nsitharaman Twitter)
Tension built up in Banswada in the Kamareddy district on Friday, 2 September when Congress workers tried to obstruct Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to the town.
The Union Minister, after breakfast at a BJP activist’s home, set out to Birkoor, a nearby village when the Congress workers tried to stop her convoy of cars at Banswada bus station.
She was visiting the town, which is part of the Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency, as part of BJP’s ‘Lok Sabha Pravas Yojana’.
Smt @nsitharaman is on 3-day visit to Zaheerabad, Telangana as part of @BJP4India‘s ‘Lok Sabha Pravas Yojana’ & will attend various programmes including meeting with district office bearers, All BJP Morchas & IT & Social Media volunteers of Zaheerabad Parliamentary Constituency. pic.twitter.com/xxOU8eccYu
— NSitharamanOffice (@nsitharamanoffc) September 1, 2022
The BJP workers who were with her, immediately rushed in, trying to drive the Congress workers away.
బాన్సువాడ అసెంబ్లీ @IYCTelangana కాంగ్రెస్ ప్రెసిడెంట్ మధుసూదన్ రెడ్డి అధ్వర్యంలో కేంద్ర మంత్రి నిర్మలా సీతారామన్ @nsitharaman పర్యటన సందర్బంగా నిరసన తెలియజేసిన మా మధుసూదన్ రెడ్డిపై @BJP4Telangana బీజేపీ కార్యకర్తలు దాడి చేయడాన్ని తీవ్రంగా ఖండిస్తున్నాం!@revanth_anumula pic.twitter.com/MdLlekJsQn
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) September 2, 2022
But the Congress activists tried to block the road when the BJP workers, who were carrying BJP flags, charged at them using them as their weapons.
Not to be outdone, the Congress workers too retaliated with sticks which led to a clash between the two groups.
As the situation was getting out of control, the police moved in and dispersed the two groups from the place and made way for Sitharaman’s convoy to proceed.
Later, after reaching Birkoor, the union minister made a surprise inspection of a ration shop and asked the collector, who accompanied her, what was the central share of the cost of the rice that is distributed to the people.
ప్రధానమంత్రి గరీబ్ కళ్యాణ్ అన్న యోజన కింద కేంద్రం పంపిణీ చేసిన బియ్యాన్ని ఎంతమందికి ఉచితంగా ఇచ్చారంటూ సివిల్ సప్లై అధికారిని నిలదీసిన కేంద్ర ఆర్థిక మంత్రి శ్రీమతి నిర్మలా సీతారామన్#ParliamentPravasYojana pic.twitter.com/09tKd4uLwd
— BJP Telangana (@BJP4Telangana) September 2, 2022
When the collector replied that he did not know, she flew into a rage and asked him to find out how much it was and get back to her immediately.
She told him in the presence of the villagers and party workers that the centre was supplying the subsidized rice almost free of cost.
The centre was bearing the transport, logistics, and even storage expenses to reach the rice to the ration shops.
The minister questioned him as to why there was no portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ration shop at a time when the entire subsidy rice was coming from the centre almost free of cost.
She wanted to know why BJP workers were being prevented when they wanted to set up a flexi of the prime minister.
Sitharaman told him that he should ensure that the prime minister’s flexi is in place in the ration shop when she visits once again in the evening.
She later told the reporters that of centre was bearing the cost of up to ₹30 of ₹35 per kg of rice that was being supplied to the state and yet the ration shop does not have the prime minister’s flexi.
