KTR objects to Congress govt seeking ryots’ self-declarations for Rythu Bharosa

BRS working president to hold awareness programmes against Congress conspiracies to scrap scheme

Hyderabad: Raising strong objections to the Congress government seeking self-declarations from farmers for the implementation of Rythu Bharosa investment support, BRS working president KT Rama Rao dubbed it as another attempt to deny support to farmers and weaken the scheme before scrapping it entirely.

He called the party cadre to organise awareness programmes across the State commencing from Saturday, to sensitise the farmers and stop the Congress government’s conspiracy. “The government’s actions are nothing short of a conspiracy to demoralise farmers,” he said.

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He condemned the government’s alleged attempts to impose stringent conditions for Rythu Bharosa and file cases against farmers under the guise of affidavits.

Speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan on Friday, Rama Rao termed the Congress government insisting for fresh applications under the scheme as a ploy to delay and deny financial assistance to majority farmers on one pretext or other.

“Instead of fulfilling its promises, the Congress government is trying to portray farmers as a burden on the State and spreading false propaganda against them,” he said.

He pointed out that under the BRS administration, schemes such as Rythu Bandhu were implemented without bureaucratic hurdles. “We deposited Rs 73,000 crore into farmers’ accounts across 11 crop seasons without demanding applications or self-declarations. In contrast, the Congress government has failed to deliver even a fraction of its promised support,” he said.

The BRS working president called upon farmers and party cadres to launch awareness campaigns, urging them to expose the government’s failure to fulfil its election promises, including the Warangal Farmers Declaration.

“The Congress pledged Rs 15,000 per acre per year to farmers, as well as financial support for tenant farmers and agricultural labourers. A year has passed, but not a single rupee has reached farmers under Rythu Bharosa,” he said.

He said the Congress deliberately stalled the disbursement of funds during the Yasangi (Rabi) crop season by complaining to the Election Commission (EC) before the Assembly elections, despite Rythu Bandhu being an ongoing programme.

“However, after coming to power, the Congress government released the same amount of Rs 7,500 crore,” he added.

Charging the government with manipulating data and delaying assistance, Rama Rao demanded transparency. He said the Ministers were claiming that around Rs 22,000 crore were misused under Rythu Bandhu, only to cause aspersions and create confusion among the people.

“If the Congress has any integrity, it should publish village-wise beneficiary lists and explain why farmers are being asked to prove their eligibility repeatedly,” he challenged.

The former Minister criticised the Congress’ mindset, alleging that the State Ministers view farmers as liabilities. “They have reduced farmers to beggars, while our government treated them as kings,” he said.

He stated that the BRS implemented schemes such as Rythu Bandhu proactively, even though they weren’t part of its election manifesto.

He demanded that the Congress government issue a self-declaration on benefits extended to farmers since it was formed. He said the State government owes around Rs 17,500 per acre to farmers under Rythu Bharosa, which translates to around Rs 26,000 crore, if implemented sincerely.

Rama Rao called for State-wide awareness programmes to pressure the government to fully implement the promises made under the Warangal Farmers Declaration and release Rythu Bharosa benefits without conditions by Sankranti.

He also urged party workers to expose the government’s conspiracies through ground-level campaigns. “Farmers should question officials visiting villages about 1.06 crore Praja Palana applications sought for government schemes and demand accountability,” he said.

Declaring that the BRS will stand firm in its fight for farmers’ rights, he said farmers deserve respect and dignity, not affidavits and insults.