Hyderabad: Former minister T. Harish Rao alleged that the Congress government has completely abandoned the promises made to farmers and effectively buried the Congress party’s “Farmer Declaration” on the very birthday of Rahul Gandhi, i.e., June 19. He criticised the state cabinet’s decision to extend a Rs 500 bonus per quintal to only seven varieties of paddy and demanded immediate withdrawal of the decision.
The Thursday’s cabinet meeting is not paperless cabinet; it is a faithless cabinet that has betrayed the trust of Telangana farmers, he said.
Addressing a press conference at his Siddipet camp office, Harish Rao said that during the Warangal public meeting, Rahul Gandhi had promised a Rs 500 bonus over Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops. However, the present Congress government has now made it clear that it will neither provide the promised bonus nor procure all crops from farmers.
“The government’s decision to purchase only those crops and quantities approved by the Centre amounts to a complete betrayal of Telangana farmers and a direct violation of the commitments made before elections. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Congress leaders had repeatedly assured farmers that every grain produced in Telangana would be procured. The Thursday’s Cabinet decision and statements made by ministers have exposed the government’s true intentions,” the BRS deputy leader said. He demanded that the Congress government tender an unconditional apology to farmers for what he described as a complete reversal of its election promises.
Harish Rao pointed out that under the previous BRS government, crops were procured irrespective of the Centre’s procurement policies, ensuring that farmers received remunerative prices.
Referring to remarks made by irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, Harish Rao said the government’s position effectively means that crops such as maize and sorghum may no longer receive procurement support from the state if the Centre does not procure them.
He also questioned the government’s procurement policy for pulses and oilseeds, including red gram, green gram, Bengal gram, and sunflower. He asked how farmers would survive if only a small portion of their produce is procured while the remaining crop is left to be sold at distress prices in private markets.
Harish Rao recalled that Telangana recorded a historic paddy production of 92 lakh metric tonnes during the BRS regime and that the state government had taken responsibility for procurement even when the Centre was unwilling to do so.
He alleged that the present government has effectively washed its hands of procurement responsibilities and is pushing farmers into uncertainty.
Questioning the repeated public meetings organised for Rythu Bharosa disbursements, Harish Rao said that during the BRS government, assistance was credited directly into farmers’ accounts without publicity events.
