BRS condemns arrest of protesting farmers in Adilabad district

Harish Rao slammed the State government for adopting undemocratic policies, stating that arresting farmers for demanding the implementation of the loan waiver was a severe violation of their rights.

Hyderabad: Senior BRS leaders, including former Ministers T Harish Rao and S Niranjan Reddy, strongly condemned the arrest of 11 farmers in Adilabad district while they were protesting against the State government’s failure to implement the farm loan waiver on Sunday. They demanded that the State government withdraw the cases and release the farmers immediately, besides implementing the loan waiver without any conditions.

Farmers had taken out a funeral procession for the effigy of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy in Adilabad on Sunday to mark their protest against the State government’s failure to waive off their crop loans. Following this, the police registered cases and arrested 11 farmers.

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In a statement, Harish Rao slammed the State government for adopting undemocratic policies, stating that arresting farmers for demanding the implementation of the loan waiver was a severe violation of their rights. He condemned the use of the police force to prevent peaceful protests, terming it as an oppressive tactic. Farmers across the State were struggling due to unfulfilled promises and resorting to protests after facing financial distress, he said.

“Farmers are vexed up after running from pillar to post around the government offices to get their crop loans waived. Confused over their fate, they are hitting the streets and holding peaceful protests. But the police are detaining them in the name of preventive custody. Unless the State government comes to the rescue of farmers, the BRS will pick up a fight against the government on their behalf,” he warned, asking the State government to explain whether farmers should indulge in farming operations or run around government offices for the loan waiver.

Niranjan Reddy questioned the government’s claim of waiving loans, pointing out that the ongoing protests revealed the incomplete nature of the loan waiver scheme. He criticised the Congress government for creating a “police State” and called for the immediate withdrawal of all cases filed against the protesting farmers.

He also demanded the State government to apologised to farmers for the distressed caused through partial implementation of the scheme. He warned of further action if the demands were not met, stressing the need to support the farmers and address their concerns without delay