Congress betrayed people, BRS is their hope: Harish Rao

Former minister T Harish Rao accused the Congress government of failing to waive crop loans and neglecting farmers in Khammam district. He criticised Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao and other local ministers for ignoring maize and paddy procurement, alleging they were more focused on commissions than welfare.

Khammam: The Congress government failed to deliver its promise of waiving crop loans, alleged former minister T Harish Rao and challenged Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao to prove him wrong.

He said he is ready to visit any place in the State that the Agriculture Minister suggests to check on the ground whether crop loans taken by farmers have been fully waived. If the government is unable to waive crop loans, it should admit this and seek an apology from the farmers.

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The government miserably failed to provide Rythu Bandhu during the past two-and-a-half years and duped the farming community out of Rs 20,000 crore that was due to them. The same is the case with crop insurance and bonus for paddy, Harish Rao complained.

Addressing the BRS party meeting here on Sunday he alleged that the Revanth Reddy government cheated every section of society and people in the State were aspiring for the BRS to return to power, he noted.

Khammam is the district where maize is produced on a large scale but maize procurement has not yet started on a full scale as a result farmers are forced to sell their produce well below the support price.

During the BRS regime every grain of paddy and maize was procured.
It is sad that though Deputy Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy who belong to Khammam failed to care about maize and paddy procurement, he said.

The three ministers in the district are interested only in earning commissions and amassing wealth and not in the development of the district or in the welfare of the farming community. The three ministers are busy scheming against each other, he alleged.

The inhuman demolition of houses of poor families at Velugumatla moved everyone in the State. Even as over 800 houses were demolished, pattas were given to only 300 families and most of them were Congress workers; every eligible family should be given pattas, Harish Rao demanded.

Despite making tall claims, the district ministers failed to complete the Sitarama Project. The people in erstwhile Khammam district, vexed with the Congress rule; were ready to teach a lesson to Congress in the next elections and the BRS would win 10 Assembly seats, he noted.

Former minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra, ex-MP Nama Nageswara Rao, BRS district president Tata Madhusudhan, ex-MLAs Sandra Venkata Veeraiah and others were present.