Harish Rao blames Congress for Telangana urea crisis

BRS leader T Harish Rao accused the Congress government of negligence in tackling Telangana’s severe urea shortage, warning crops were at risk. He also blamed the Centre for policy failures and warned of intensified agitation if the crisis was not resolved immediately

Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS MLA T Harish Rao on Tuesday held the Congress government responsible for the acute urea crisis gripping Telangana. He accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of negligence and misplaced priorities.

In a statement, Harish Rao said farmers, who should be in their fields, were instead forced to stand in queues on roads for days, clutching Aadhaar cards and passbooks, waiting for urea bags. “Notwithstanding weather, time and days, farmers are standing in queues and fainting due to exhaustion. Cotton is in the budding stage and rice is in the belly stage. Without urea, crops will fail,” he warned.

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Slamming the State government for prioritising “muddy and vendetta politics” in the Assembly instead of addressing farmers’ distress, he said the Congress was holding political meetings while ignoring the worsening crisis in villages. Farmers’ protests and highway blockades were evidence of the government’s failure, he said.

He also targeted the Centre, demanding that Telangana BJP MPs pressure the union government to roll back the recent import duty cut on palm oil and continue the duty waived for cotton imports. Without urgent corrective steps, both the State and Central governments would be held responsible for pushing farmers into despair, he warned.

“Never in India’s history have farmers suffered so much for urea. During KCR’s rule, supplies were ensured on time. Why is this government unable to plan procurement and distribution in advance?” he asked.

Charging the Revanth Reddy government with betraying farmers, Harish Rao said it had failed to deliver on promises of loan waivers, crop bonuses and increased pensions, while leaving farmers in distress during the crucial agricultural season.

Calling out both BJP and Congress MPs for being “silent spectators,” he asked what their action plan was to resolve the urea crisis. He added that if shortages were not immediately addressed, the BRS would intensify its agitation in support of farmers. He said the Congress government, which once raised the slogan “Jai Kisan,” had today reduced it to “Nai Kisan,” destroying the backbone of the State’s economy.