KTR slams anti-farmer BJP Government, says Modi govt wants farmers to quit farming

Hyderabad: Listing out the Bharatiya Janata Party -led union government’s anti-farmer policies one by one, Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday said the BJP, after attempting power reforms that had a major adverse impact on the farming community, was now working on privatizing crop procurement, which again would affect the farming community negatively. Once […]

Hyderabad: Listing out the Bharatiya Janata Party -led union government’s anti-farmer policies one by one, Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Saturday said the BJP, after attempting power reforms that had a major adverse impact on the farming community, was now working on privatizing crop procurement, which again would affect the farming community negatively.

Once private agencies were entrusted with the task of crop procurement, there would be no Indira Kranthi Patham (IKP) centres and farmers would not be able to demand even a Minimum Support Price (MSP). The private agencies would fix the price and farmers would have to sell their produce accordingly, he said.

Addressing farmers at a Rythu Avagahana Sadassu at Manneguda here on Saturday, the Minister said the BJP, in the guise of power reforms, was hell bent on fixing meters to pumpsets in agriculture fields and on privatizing power utilities as well. These meters would be prepaid ones and State governments would not have any control on power charges. Though there would be a Energy Regulatory Commission, it would not have any say in this regard, the Minister said.

In the form of an increased Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) limit, the BJP government had even announced perks for State governments that would install meters for pumpsets. However, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, foreseeing the trap for farmers in such a move, had opposed these anti-farmer policies and declared that Telangana would not install the meters at any cost, he said.

The Modi government was underestimating the farmer’s awareness. Its sole agenda was to make the farmer give up farming and surrender to corporate companies, the Minister said.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to double the farmers’ income. Even as the nation was plagued with rising inflation, only one corporate giant’s wealth has doubled in the last eight years” Rama Rao said, adding that the BJP was in an illusion that increasing Rajgopal Reddy’s wealth would suffice for increasing the farmers’ and people’s wealth. The TRS had demanded the Centre to sanction Rs.18,000 crore for Nalgonda and assured to withdraw its candidate from the by-poll, but there was no response, the Minister pointed out.

When the Telangana government was striving for the welfare of farmers and their development by extending Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima schemes apart from ensuring free power supply, the BJP was least bothered about the farming community. Nearly, 13 people, including farmers were crushed to death in Uttar Pradesh, and the Prime Minister had to apologise to the nation for introducing the three controversial farm laws.

Following the Telangana government’s farmer-friendly measures, acreage had increased to 1.35 lakh acres in the State. In 2014, paddy procurement was 68 lakh tonnes and it had now increased to 3.50 crore tonnes. Earlier this year, when the Telangana government urged the union Minister for Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal to procure paddy, he had ridiculed the State government, asking it to get people habituated to consuming broken rice.

“Farmers do not have to stage protests or file any applications against the BJP’s anti-farmer policies. All they have to do is teach a lesson to BJP,” Rama Rao said.