Both Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the BJP were playing politics with the Telangana farmers by shifting the blame on each other on paddy procurement, Congress’s State in charge Manickam Tagore said.
The Telangana government is to stage a dharna in Delhi on April 11 to protest against the Centre’s alleged discriminatory paddy procurement policy. The entire Telangana Cabinet, MPs and legislators will sit on a day-long protest.
The Centre has refused to procure paddy from Telangana this Rabi season, reiterating its stand that it would purchase only raw rice and not parboiled rice, which the majority of the State produces this season.
‘Farmer at receiving end’
Mr. Tagore said the protest by the Telangana government in Delhi was merely an eyewash. “Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) are doing politics over the issue. They are shifting the blame on each other and it is the farmer who is at the receiving end,” he stated.
The Congress government in Chhattisgarh, Mr. Tagore, pointed out, bought the produce from farmers. “The farmer has invested at least ₹15000 an acre. Thanks to the TRS and the BJP’s insensitivity, their produce will be thrown on the roads. Didn’t the KCR government know about the Centre’s procurement policy? Why is it now staging this drama?”
Mr. Tagore said that instead of spending money on vanity projects and publicity, the Telangana government should buy the produce directly from farmers. “It will cost the State exchequer close to ₹10,000 crore. Instead of doing this drama, the State government should simply buy the entire produce,” he observed.
Polls in 2023
The State will go to the polls in December 2023. The Congress currently holds 19 seats in the 119-member Assembly.
Assured MSP (minimum support price) and buying the produce would be part of the Congress’s manifesto in the election. The dharna in Delhi was also aimed at Mr. Rao’s efforts to build a national profile for himself, Mr. Tagore added.
In the last few months, Mr. Rao has met several Opposition leaders, including his Tamil Nadu counterpart M.K. Stalin and NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) patriarch Sharad Pawar. The party is aiming to construct an anti-BJP front sans the Congress.
