Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not forget that farmers’ tears have forced out many governments in the past, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said in Delhi on Monday. He was speaking at a day–long dharna attended by the entire State Cabinet and all TRS lawmakers against the Union government’s alleged discriminatory paddy procurement policy.
The Centre has refused to procure paddy from Telangana this rabi season reiterating its stand that it would only purchase raw rice and not parboiled rice which the majority of the State has produced in this season. He also laid down a 24–hour deadline for the Modi government to resolve the stalemate and threatened to take the protest across the country if the government failed to respond.
“Is it a crime to grow paddy,” Mr. Rao asked. “I want to caution Prime Minister Modi against playing with the emotions of a farmer. He should remember that whenever a farmer is forced to shed tears, the government has always been pushed out of power.” The dharna was also attended by Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait.
