Kishan Reddy finds fault with Ministers for criticizing Centre on paddy procurement

Hyderabad: Taking exception to the remarks made against the Central government on paddy procurement issue, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday clarified that the Centre would purchase every grain as per the agreement entered with the State government. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi to brief about the national cultural festival to […]

Hyderabad: Taking exception to the remarks made against the Central government on paddy procurement issue, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday clarified that the Centre would purchase every grain as per the agreement entered with the State government.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi to brief about the national cultural festival to be organized in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh soon, he said it was not advisable on the part of the Ministers from Telangana to make unnecessary remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal and others on paddy procurement issue.

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The Ministers were speaking lies and spewing venom on the Central government every day, he said.

He sought to know why there is a problem in Telangana when no other State was facing the problem with respect to paddy procurement. There was no problem even during the tenure of former Chief Ministers YS Rajashekhara Reddy, N Kiran Kumar Reddy and K Rosaiah in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

The neighboring Andhra Pradesh was also not facing the problem in procurement. “We believe that the problem in Telangana started after the BJP won the elections in Huzurabad Assembly constituency,” he said.

Kishan Reddy said the UPA government has spent Rs.3,404 crore for purchasing paddy in Telangana in 2014-15. After coming to power, the BJP led NDA government has spent Rs.26,641 crore last year. This was the commitment the Central government was having towards farmers, he said.

The ruling party’s intention was to blame the Centre on the paddy procurement issue and derive political mileage by instigating farmers, he alleged.

He said the Centre was adopting a uniform policy in procuring paddy from States and added that it was the Central government that was bearing all the expenses for purchasing paddy. He found fault with the ruling party leaders for staging protests against the rise in fuel prices.

During the pandemic, several State governments including the BJP-ruled States reduced taxes on fuel. But the government in Telangana did not reduce the tax, he said.