Revanth Reddy shifts blame to Centre on paddy procurement after criticising BRS earlier

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who once attacked the BRS government for failing to procure paddy, has now shifted the blame to the BJP-led Centre. He accused the Union government of neglecting farmers by not procuring stocks despite fixing MSP.

Hyderabad: When in Opposition, the then TPCC president A Revanth Reddy had found fault with the BRS government accusing it of failing to procure paddy from farmers. But after taking over the reins of Telangana government, he is now throwing the blame on the BJP government at the Centre for the similar task.

It was in March 2022, Revanth Reddy had criticised the BRS government for failing to procure paddy even though it had an annual budget of Rs.2.5 lakh crore. He accused the government of failing to spend Rs.10,000 crore to purchase the paddy on its own.

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At the ‘Mana Ooru- Mana Poru’ public meeting in Yellareddy, Revanth Reddy had even asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had authority on paddy procurement, then what was K Chandrashekhar Rao doing as the Chief Minister.

Staying oblivious to his past remarks, Revanth Reddy now blames the Central government and its lack of support for paddy and other crops procurement.

“How much is the central government procuring? Entire stocks are being procured by the State government. The central government fixed MSP but is it procuring the stocks,” Revanth Reddy asked during an informal chat with a select group of mediapersons on Saturday.

He even charged that due to the Central government’s failure in procuring the stocks, farmers in Telangana were facing several hardships.

“The Central government should procure all the stocks purchased by us,” the Chief Minister demanded.

He tried to play down the controversy surrounding a report broadcast by a news channel dubbing TPCC president Mahesh Kumar Goud as a disaster leader. Despite the news channel known to be supporting the Congress, the Chief Minister stated that the party or State government had nothing to do with the report.

“Mahesh Kumar Goud and I have a good understanding. We will continue to work as a team and contest the 2029 elections,” Revanth Reddy said.

He further said if the Congress came to power in the Centre, Mahesh Kumar Goud could be made a union Minister.

Regarding the opposition from different sections over the proposed Rythu Discom, the Chief Minister charged that the BRS was deliberately making it an issue for political gains.

“If meters are installed to agriculture pumpsets or free power supply to the farming sector is withdrawn, Congress will not contest elections,” Revanth Reddy said.