Centre’s adverse stance harming interests of Telangana farmers: Puvvada

Khammam: The Centre’s adverse stance in procuring yasangi paddy from Telangana was harming the interests of farmers in the State, alleged Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar. A long term struggle by the farmers would be launched against the BJP government at Centre if it did not buy the paddy harvested in the State, the minister […]

Khammam: The Centre’s adverse stance in procuring yasangi paddy from Telangana was harming the interests of farmers in the State, alleged Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar.

A long term struggle by the farmers would be launched against the BJP government at Centre if it did not buy the paddy harvested in the State, the minister warned. He took part in a farmers’ protest at Manchukonda village in Khammam constituency on Monday.

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Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao was ready for a movement aiming to find a permanent solution to the issue of paddy procurement which has become a life and death issue for farmers, he noted.

The Telangana government building irrigation projects, introduced welfare measures like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, supplying 24-hour free quality electricity for agriculture. As a result the grain production went up and Telangana was able to feed the nation, Ajay Kumar said.

But the Modi government was showing discrimination towards Telangana with regard to paddy purchase. BJP leaders, Bandi Sanjay Kumar and union Minister G Kishan Reddy were making contradictory statements on the issue, he complained.

If the issue was settled forthwith there was a risk of farmers suffering losses. The farmers of erstwhile Khammam district would support the Chief Minister in his struggle against the Centre, Ajay Kumar asserted.

It was sad that though the Chief Minister has repeatedly appealed to the Centre to procure yasangi paddy the Centre was not responding. The farmers would be explained how the Centre conspired against Telangana farmers and the damage it was causing to them, he said. “TRS has fought against the injustices done to the people of Telangana region. Our people have a history of fighting and achieving Telangana. The same would be repeated to protect the rights of farmers” Ajay Kumar averred.

The Food Corporation of India was set up in 1965 by the then government to procure paddy or rice grown in different States. Since its formation until today paddy purchases continued as usual. But this year the BJP government was creating trouble.

To date, the Centre has not given a straightforward answer as to why a problem that has not existed for the past many years now arose. The Centre should explain why it was buying paddy from Punjab and not from Telangana, Ajay Kumar questioned.

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