Congress dodges Question Hour; Harish Rao red flags move

BRS MLA says the Congress government cancelled Question Hour to avoid addressing issues such as farmers’ distress and financial mismanagement among others

Hyderabad: The Congress government’s move on Tuesday cancelling Question Hour in the Assembly has come under fire from the main Opposition BRS, with former Minister and BRS MLA T Harish Rao questioning the decision. Terming the move an attempt to avoid answering critical questions on farmers’ distress and financial mismanagement, he expressed his objections to the Speaker and the Secretary.

“Question Hour is mandatory. But the Congress government is running away from its responsibility to answer our questions and attempting to suppress our voice by evading answers on pressing issues,” he said.

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In an informal interaction with the media in the Assembly lobbies on Tuesday, Harish Rao pointed out that the BRS had raised questions on three key issues – the mortgaging of public assets for loans, the drying up of Yasangi crops, and the failure to fulfill promises made to farmers, all of which were dodged by cancelling the Question Hour.

He stated that the government was borrowing Rs.50,000 crore by pledging HMDA lands, GHMC, HMWS & SB, and TGIIC assets.

“HMDA lands, GHMC, HMWS & SB, and TGIIC assets are being pledged to borrow Rs.50,000 crore. Why is this government mortgaging Telangana’s future?” he asked.

Raising concerns over irrigation, the former Irrigation Minister stated that crops were withering across Warangal, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Siddipet, despite water being available in projects such as Devadula and Mallanna Sagar.

On the issue of farmer welfare, he said around half of farmers had not received crop loan waivers, even though the government had repeatedly stated otherwise. He pointed out that paddy procurement had dropped significantly, from 70 lakh metric tonnes during the BRS tenure to just 52 lakh metric tonnes under Congress.

“Farmers are waiting for loan waivers and procurement support, but the Congress government is all talk, no action,” he remarked.

The BRS legislator also highlighted discrepancies in Rythu Bharosa payments, revealing that in Siddipet alone, 20,514 farmers had yet to receive loan waivers and Rs.37 crore was still pending. He said farmers were suffering due to the delayed establishment of procurement centres, forcing them to sell their crops at lower prices. The situation in Nizamabad was even worse.

“Despite assurances, many farmers had not received the promised benefits, leading to widespread distress in rural areas,” he added.

Harish Rao stated that these issues needed urgent attention and that the government must fulfill its commitments without further delay. He warned that if these problems were not addressed, the growing dissatisfaction among farmers would have serious consequences for the State’s administration.