Hyderabad: The BJP on Monday launched a multi-pronged attack on Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and said it will not rest until the state government purchases all the paddy grown in the state in the ongoing rabi season. The BJP leaders also ridiculed the Chief Minister for “running away” to Delhi and holding a dharna there.
Addressing a ‘Rythu Deeksha’ meet near Indira Park here, the BJP leaders demanded Rao resign as Chief Minister if he could no ensure that the government purchases the paddy. The protest coincided with the TRS dharna in Delhi.
Addressing BJP leaders, party workers and some farmers, state BJP president Bandi Sanjay Kumar accused the Chief Minister of lying on the issue of paddy purchases. “It is the responsibility of the state to buy paddy from farmers. Only after the state procures paddy and it is milled into rice does the role of the Centre come in,” he said.
“Without speaking about this, Chandrashekar Rao is resorting to drama in Delhi. He also owes an explanation as to why after claiming that the state was buying paddy for the past seven years it no longer in a position to do so this year. The fact is that funds for paddy purchases come from the Centre,” Sanjay said.
Sanjay said that the Telangana government had hiked RTC and electricity tariff and the TRS was hyping the paddy purchase issue to distract the people. “There is a Rs 800 crore scam in the making over paddy procurement in which the Chief Minister is involved.” He alleged.
Union minister of state for external affairs V. Muraleedharan who constantly referred to the Chief Minister as ‘Commission Rao’, said the people understood why the Chief Minister was enacting the dharna dramas. Muralidharan said Rao was “not the Chief Minister, but the chief misleader” because of the attempts to mislead the people of the state on paddy purchase issues.
BJP MLA Etala Rajender, who also addressed the gathering, questioned Chandrashekar Rao’s query about why the BJP was holding a dharna in the city over paddy purchases. “He needs to explain why he held a dharna in Delhi. Is it because he is incapable of paddy procurement,” Rajendar asked. “The BJP,” he said, “was holding the dharna because it is now the Opposition party in Telangana. Since he is unable to face the people here, he went to Delhi to hold the dharna.”
Among those who addressed the protest were MPs Dharmapuri Arvind, Soyam Bapu Rao, MLA T. Raja Singh, former MP Vivek Venkataswamy, senior BJP leaders Dr K. Laxman, D.K. Aruna, Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, and former MLA Ch Ramachandra Reddy.
