Paddy procurement: Rahul’s uninformed comments trigger war of words
Hyderabad: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s uninformed comments on the contentious paddy procurement issue on Tuesday triggered a war of words between the TRS and Congress leaders in social media platforms, with the pink party castigating the MP for not taking a stand on the crucial ‘One Nation, One Procurement’ policy sought by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.
Making light of the serious issue that has been raging for some time between the Centre and Telangana government, Rahul Gandhi sought to accuse both the Centre and the State for ‘harassing farmers.’ In a series of tweets in Telugu, the Congress MP said: “Stop harassing paddy farmers with anti-farmers’ policies and buy every grain harvested.”
The tweets, particularly the fact that they were in Telugu, appear to be politically motivated since Rahul Gandhi is rumoured to visit Warangal next month for a public meeting being organised by the Congress State unit to muster support for the farmers.
Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to set the cat among the pigeons drew immediate and sharp response from both Finance Minister T Harish Rao and TRS MLC K Kavitha who advised the former to restrain from displaying his false affection for the farmers of Telangana.
The Congress leader, stating that it was a shame that the BJP and TRS governments were neglecting their moral responsibility of procuring paddy produced by Telangana farmers and politicising the issue, said the Congress will continue to fight on behalf of the farmers until every grain produced in Telangana is procured.
Harish Rao, in a strong rebuttal, tweeted: “Try to expose the Centre which is harassing the farmers. First, you should announce your party’s stand on the ‘One Nation, One Procurement’ policy. Stop politicising the issue involving farmers and avoid ruining your reputation any further in Telangana.”
The Minister went on to ask Rahul Gandhi to join the TRS MPs in their fight for ‘One Nation, One Procurement’ policy in Parliament if he really was a real well-wisher of the people of Telangana.
Kavitha, in her swift response, said instead of extending symbolic solidarity with farmers on Twitter for political gains, Rahul Gandhi, as an MP, should join the TRS MPs in their protests in Parliament. “The TRS MPs are staging protests in the Well of the House every day against the Centre’s inconsistent paddy procurement policies that worked well for States such as Punjab and Haryana while it went against the rest of the country. If you are sincere in your intentions, you must join them in the protests. Demand for ‘One Nation, One Procurement’ policy,” she tweeted.
AICC Telangana in-charge Manickam Tagore and TPCC president A Revanth Reddy also put in their two-bit alleging that the TRS MPs were not fighting in Parliament and instead, were passing time in the Central Hall. Manickam Tagore sought to deride Kavitha stating that ex-MPs are not allowed inside Parliament and hence, she can’t see what the TRS MPs were up to in the Central Hall.
In a fitting reply, the MLC pointed out that it was this arrogance that reduced Congress into a double digit presence in Parliament. She stated that win or lose, she did not run away from her constituency or contest from two seats like Rahul Gandhi. “TRS is demanding ‘One Nation. One Procurement’ policy. What is @RahulGandhi Ji’s stand on this issue? @trspartyonline is and will always be with the farmers & won’t rest until every gram of Telangana paddy is procured. (sic)” she tweeted.
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