Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president and MP Revanth Reddy has alleged that the TRS government in Telangana and the BJP government at the Centre have jointly scripted the blame game over paddy procurement on the advice of a pollster close to both the governments.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday along with Nalgonda MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and TPCC Campaign Committee chairman Madhu Yashki Goud, he said that this drama was being enacted on the advice of a political strategist called Sunil, who is closely associated with both Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
“I will expose the nexus between TRS and BJP soon to explain how Telangana farmers are falling prey to the monstrous plans of BJP-TRS governments for the last two months,” he said.
He claimed that the meeting of TRS MPs with Union Agriculture Minister Piyush Goyal and the meeting of Telangana BJP leaders with Amit Shah on the same day in New Delhi were pre-decided and the outcomes were made public in a manner that they left farmers in a state of confusion.
Mr. Reddy also said that it was ridiculous for Mr. Shah to suggest his partymen a campaign in Telangana on the plank of corruption of KCR when he had all the evidence and power to order an investigation by the ED and the CBI. “Union Minister Kishan Reddy and State BJP president Bandi Sanjay only make allegations and do nothing. Which invisible power is stopping the BJP government from taking action against KCR?”, he asked.
“TRS MPs’ meeting with Mr. Goyal was just an eyewash as the Minister already made a statement on the floor of Parliament that the Centre will purchase 60 lakh MTs of paddy from Telangana. Their protest in Parliament was aimed at shielding the Modi government from the wrath of the entire Opposition,” he claimed.
Mr. Uttam Reddy said that the KCR government did not even make adequate arrangements for gunny bags, transportation or IKP centres leading to damage of paddy produce due to unseasonal rains. He said it was ridiculous on the part of the TRS government to ask farmers to completely drop paddy cultivation in the next season. The entire rice produced in Telangana could be exported if the State government gives an incentive of ₹3,000 crore.
Mr. Venkat Reddy reminded that it was the Congress that started IKP centres to procure farmers’ produce and the previous Congress-led UPA government enhanced MSP for paddy from ₹400 to ₹1,000 in a single shot. It also waived off crop loans of nearly ₹60,000 crore in a single take to relieve farmers from their debts.
Mr. Goud alleged a scam of ₹18,000 crore in paddy procurement in Telangana. He said that rice millers purchased paddy from farmers by paying just ₹1,300 to ₹1,400 while the KCR government procured 53 lakh metric tonnes of paddy from rice millers by paying MSP of ₹1,940. If the BJP was sincere, it should order a probe into paddy procurement, he said.
