KTR writes to Kharge, Rahul accusing Congress govt of betraying TG farmers; demands full crop loan waiver
He demanded that the Congress government in the State fulfill its electoral promise, failing which the BRS, accompanied by farmers of the State, would launch a fight against it
Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao shot a missive to AICC president Mallikharjun Kharge and Congress Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing the party of betraying Telangana’s farmers and failing to implement crop loan waiver for all.
He demanded that the Congress government in the State fulfill its electoral promise, failing which the BRS, accompanied by farmers of the State, would launch a fight against it.
In a strongly worded letter, Rama Rao said he was writing the letter on behalf of the lakhs of farmers who did not benefit from the promised crop loan waiver.
He pointed out a stark difference between the assurances given by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the ground realities. He reminded that during the election campaign, the Congress promised to waive crop loans upto Rs 2 lakh under Warangal Farmers Declaration.
“But the State government came up with numerous conditions and excuses to waive loans. With only partial waivers being granted in three installments, amount to less than 40 per cent of the promised relief, the remaining farmers are left in distress,” he said.
The former Minister said the BRS government waived crop loans up to Rs 1 lakh, amounting to Rs 19,198 crore for 36.68 lakh farmers.
Despite the Congress party’s promise to waive loans up to Rs 2 lakh, the number of beneficiaries surprisingly decreased by 14.31 lakh. In fact, the number of beneficiaries should have increased to 47 lakh farmers, but it instead decreased to 22.37 lakh farmers.
He argued that the Congress government’s approach not only failed to meet expectations but also put the farmers under more strain.
Rama Rao highlighted the stark difference in the initial amount announced by the State government and the final amount spent for farm loan waiver.
While the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) declared that the total crop loans stood at Rs 49,500 crore disbursed by December, the Congress government initially estimated needing Rs 40,000 crore to fulfill its loan waiver promise.
The amount was reduced to Rs 31,000 crore in the State Cabinet meeting and further cut to Rs 26,000 crore in budget allocations. Ultimately, only Rs. 17,933 crore was spent in three installments.
He cited numerous incidents across the State where farmers took to streets and led widespread protests across the State including protests and road blockades.
He cited instances of farmers attempting suicide due to the debt burden and expressed concern over the growing discontent among the farming community. He said the BRS helpline received over 1.2 lakh complaints on implementation of crop loan waiver within a week, indicating the magnitude of the issue.
Stating that farmers of Telangana feel cheated and abandoned, Rama Rao demanded that the Congress leadership should intervene and ensure that the Telangana government fulfills its electoral promise without further delay or conditions.
He stressed that the failure to effectively implement the loan waiver scheme, led to widespread distress among the farming community. He vowed that the BRS would continue to fight on behalf of Telangana’s farmers until justice is served.
