Procure paddy or quit, BJP tells CM KCR

BJP stages a counter protest in Hyderabad

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Monday, has demanded Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, to either “start procuring paddy or resign from his post”. The party, which held a counter protest meeting here at the Indira Park ridiculed the “one hour fake dharna” by KCR in New Delhi earlier and charged the latter with trying to pin the blame of non-procurement of paddy this season on the Centre without any basis.

“Does he have the guts to dethrone Prime Minister Modi when every crop from cotton to chilli is getting high minimum support price during his rule with ₹65,000 being spend on each acre across the country. It is the Telangana people who are actually ready to vote KCR out,” said party president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar, addressing the gathering.

Top party leaders, led by Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muralidharan, vice president D. K. Aruna, national OBC morcha president K. Laxman, MLAs T. Raja Singh, Eatala Rajender, Vijayashanti and several others participated in the “Buy Paddy or Resign” programme.

“We will not sit quiet if the Centre is to be blamed for the follies of the TRS government. How can a chief minister kick up a row when the crop is ready for harvesting? Isn’t the Central government purchasing the produce for the last seven years? Even now the Centre is ready to do so but is this government serious or wishes to punish the farmers for no fault of theirs,” he questioned.

The “Delhi drama” was only to make TS people forget about recent hike in power tariff and RTC fares, he said and alleged of a ₹800 crore seeds scam. State governments role in procurement is to act like middlemen as the Centre provides the funds but in this case, illegal gratification seems to be prime motivating factor behind not starting the process,” he charged.

The TRS government had failed to provide accurate data on the extent of cultivation or output this season to the Centre, he alleged. Recalling the Chief Minister’s earlier promise to purchase paddy “direct from the rice fields” , he pointed out that TS farmers are facing a “strange situation” of distress due to lack of MSP despite a good harvest when it was drought which led many of them to commit suicide earlier.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar questioned about the utility of the farmers coordination centres opened in recent times when many are being forced to sell at a less price to the millers. The Union Minister too criticised KCR accusing him of not procuring paddy for “commissions” from the millers.