Shyampet (Warangal): A day after he was released from jail on bail for hurling his slipper at Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari, farmer Damerakonda Komuraiah says that farmers in the state continue to suffer and the Chief Minister has no right to seek votes.
Mr Komuraiah had, during a public meeting in Shyampet on November 6, questioned Mr Srihari as to what the state government was doing about the MSP provided to cotton farmers and then hurled his slipper at Mr Srihari. He was arrested and lodged in the Warangal Central jail. He was released on bail on Monday night, 10 days after the incident.
“I expected our lives to get better after we achieved our own state but that did not happen. Many farmers are taking their own lives as their hopes have been dashed. But even then, our CM, who gave us hope of better lives in our own rule, left us disappointed by not coming to our rescue,” he said.
Mr Komuraiah said that expenditure incurred over cultivation has shot up steeply and farmers were struggling to make ends meet. “Is this what our Chief Minister promised? When I questioned them, I got beaten up severely and sent to jail and branded as a crazy person. I am afraid of what will happen to me now,” he said.
Sambalakshmi, Mr Komuraiah’s mother, said he had always been an ardent fan of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and supported the TRS in its fight for separate Telangana. “For all that he has done, he is being called a madman, he was beaten up like a criminal,” she said.
“He used to be very worried as we were not getting enough MSP for the cotton and incurring loses. He felt very sad thinking how he will be able to raise his two daughters,” Ms Sambalakshmi said.
After Komuraiah was arrested, other political parties took up the responsibility of bringing him out of jail. Prominent among these were local leaders, who made all possible efforts to help him get bail.
BJP Shyampet mandal president P. Suresh said what has happened to Mr Komuraiah was shameful. “Our party arranged bail for Komuraiah and ensured he comes out of jail,” he said.
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