Determined to make the October 10 bandh call a success, leaders of the Congress, TDP and the BJP on Thursday vowed to expose the TRS Government’s failure to come to the rescue of farmers and announce a one-time settlement of farm loan waiver.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N.Uttam Kumar Reddy, BJP legislator Chintala Ramachandra Reddy, TDP elected representatives including Telangana TDP president L.Ramana, working president A.Revanth Reddy, TTDP floor leader E. Dayakar Rao and others met at the TDP Legislature Party office on Assembly premises to take stock of the arrangements for the bandh on October 10.
The meeting squarely blamed the Government for miserably failing to take concrete steps to help the farmers. They said it was the responsibility of the opposition parties to stand by the farmers, who were committing suicide unable to come out of the debt trap. They appealed to the people to make the bandh a success.
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The Opposition parties wondered why the Government was reluctant to respond to the suicides, which had already crossed 1,400 since the bifurcation of the State. They demanded that the Government honour and pay an ex gratia of Rs. 6 lakh to the families of the deceased farmers. Earlier, the TPCC president at a review meeting of the PCC office-bearers and the leaders from Greater Hyderabad unit flayed the Government for failing to bail out the distressed farmers.
At the meeting attended by the Greater Hyderabad unit president Danam Nagender and former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav, it was decided to take out a rally on Friday in support of the bandh from Charminar to Secunderabad. On Saturday, the party leaders decided to lay siege to the bus depots. Meanwhile, Telangana Democratic Forum leaders released a poster in support of the bandh. Major farmers organisations have also rallied behind the opposition parties ahead of the bandh.