Harish Rao slams Revanth Reddy over urea crisis, demands apology to farmers

BRS MLA T Harish Rao accused the Congress government of mishandling urea supply during the Kharif season and demanded an apology to farmers. He blamed State mismanagement, rejected war-related excuses and recalled how the BRS ensured timely supply during its tenure

Hyderabad: Stating that the Congress government owed an unconditional apology to the farming community over the urea crisis, former Minister and BRS MLA T Harish Rao said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was mishandling fertiliser supplies during the critical Kharif season.

Addressing the media on Saturday, he took strong exception to the police using force to stifle the voice of protesting farmers and questioned the Congress government’s claims of people’s governance and Indiramma Rajyam.

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“Is this your so-called people’s rule, slapping farmers for demanding urea?” he asked, referring to the incident in Narayanpet where an SI allegedly slapped a farmer who had sought adequate urea.

Harish Rao criticised the Chief Minister for his inconsistent statements on the urea crisis, which has left farmers across Telangana struggling during the Kharif season. Pointing out the government’s shifting stance, he said, “First they claimed there was no urea shortage. Then they called farmers’ protests fake, alleging manipulated photos. They denied the existence of long queues, later claimed those in queues were not farmers but BRS workers, and finally admitted the shortage but blamed the BJP-led Central government and the Russia-Ukraine war.”

Rejecting the government’s explanations, Harish Rao said, “The urea crisis is not due to any war. It is due to the Congress government’s lack of preparedness.”

He said the administration had failed to coordinate with the Central government to secure adequate fertiliser supplies, forcing farmers to stand in long queues and face humiliation. Citing Central government data, he pointed out that against a national requirement of 143 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of urea, 183 LMT was available, with 155 LMT already sold, showing there was no nationwide shortage.

“If the Centre’s data is accurate, the blame lies squarely with the State government’s mismanagement,” he said.

Harish Rao demanded immediate action against officials who used force on farmers and called for a public apology from the Congress government for its failure to ensure timely urea supply. “The Chief Minister knows only two things – carrying bags to Delhi and twisting words,” he remarked.

Comparing the current situation with the BRS government’s 10-year rule under former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, he said farmers never faced such shortages earlier. He recalled that Chandrashekhar Rao had coordinated with the railways and neighbouring States to ensure timely urea supply, even arranging 25 special trains in 2019 to transport one lakh tonnes of urea to Telangana within three days.