HYDERABAD: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on Tuesday boycotted the ongoing winter session of Parliament to protest the Central government’s failure to respond to its demands on paddy procurement and farmers’ issues.
TRS MPs said the Central government had turned a blind eye to their protests, which they have been holding in both the Houses of Parliament since the commencement of winter session on Monday last.
The TRS MPs in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha staged walkouts and protested outside Parliament.
They stated there was no point in attending the session as the Centre did not address any issue raised by them in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha since the commencement of the session.
As soon as the session began on Tuesday, the TRS MPs obstructed the proceedings by raising slogans in the House demanding that the Centre procure paddy from Telangana.
The TRS MPs in the Rajya Sabha demanded that the Centre procure pending paddy stocks of previous kharif and rabi seasons from Telangana immediately as a few lakhs of tonnes of paddy was still lying in rice mills failing which it would get damaged and the state government would suffer huge losses.
They strongly demanded that the Centre procure the entire paddy from Telangana as was being done in Punjab and accused the Centre’s discrimination towards Telangana in paddy procurement.
Speaking to media personnel, TRS floor leader in Lok Sabha Nama Nageshwar Rao said since the winter session of Parliament started on November 29, they were raising the demand of paddy procurement and obstructed parliamentary proceedings, but there had been no response from the Centre.
He said the party was forced to boycott the session as their repeated demands and requests to give clarity on paddy procurement from Telangana fell on Centre’s deaf ears.
Rao said TRS MPs gave adjournment motions seeking discussion on farmers’ issues for the past one week but they were rejected by the Speaker in the Lok Sabha and chairman in the Rajya Sabha.
“Instead of addressing our demands, the Centre tried to put the blame on the Telangana government for the ongoing paddy procurement crisis,” he added.
Rao said the party would take paddy issue to people’s court in TS and expose the discrimination of the BJP government at the Centre towards Telangana farmers.
Reacting to the charges of TRS MPs, Union minister G. Kishan Reddy defended the Centre on the paddy issue.
