Ministers, Speaker condemn Nirmala\'s comments

Hyderabad: Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy and ministers T. Harish Rao, Gangula Kamalakar, Vemula Prashanth Reddy and Satyavathi Rathod came down heavily on Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharam for asking officials to put pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at ration shops.

Speaking to media personnel, Harish Rao challenged Sithamaran to prove her allegation that Telangana had not joined the Centre's Ayushman Bharat. He said there was never a demand to feature the Prime Minister's picture in ration shops.

"Telangana contributes more revenue to the Centre than it gets from the Centre. Is the Centre ready to put KCR's pictures in other states for utilising funds from Telangana," he asked.

In Banswada, Pocharam Srinivas Reddy said that he was speaking as an MLA.

He said: "Nirmala uttered lies on farmers' suicides. She also made baseless allegations that the TS government opted out of PM Fasal Bima Yojana. Farmers obtained orders from the High Court against implementation of this scheme citing lopsided norms," Srinivas Reddy said.

Kamalakar said that the Centre was supplying PDS rice to only 59 per cent of the 90.34 lakh beneficiaries in Telangana at Rs 3 per kg with ceiling of 5kg  per head. The Telangana government was extending the benefit to all beneficiaries Re 1 per kg, 6kg per head without any limit, at a cost of Rs 3,610 crore per year on PDS rice.

Minister Prashanth Reddy stated that Nirmala lowered her stature by asking officials to put Modi's pictures at ration shops.