KARIMNAGAR: TRS working president and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao went all ballistic against the BJP as he addressed the ‘maha dharna’ in his home constituency Sircilla on Friday, demanding that Centre procure paddy from the state during rabi season.
Rama Rao warned that the BJP would be crushed under the wheels of tractors and bullock carts of farmers in Telangana, if the Centre refused to purchase paddy from the state.
Rao also warned the BJP that these dharnas across Telangana were just a beginning and if the Centre failed to make its stance clear on the procurement of paddy from the state in the rabi season, the TRS would hold dharnas in the national capital.
Terming the BJP at national level as ‘Delhi BJP’ and at Telangana level as ‘silly BJP’, Rao said, “Delhi BJP says don’t sow paddy and we will not purchase, but ‘silly BJP’ asks farmers to sow paddy. The BJP wants TS farmers to incur losses by sowing paddy in rabi, then they come on to the roads demanding procurement and create law and order problems and gains political mileage. But we will not allow this to happen. We will expose the BJP’s double standards on paddy.”
Describing the BJP as ‘anti-farmer party’, Rama Rao said BJP’s union minister’s son had mowed down farmers in Uttar Pradesh recently with his car and Prime Minister Narendra Modi neither bothered to respond on this issue nor initiated action against the minister concerned.
“The BJP is the party which mows down farmers with cars but the TRS is a party which wants farmers to ride the cars. The TRS government is the only one in the country which gives Rs 10,000 per acre per year to every farmer irrespective of the extent of landholding through Rythu Bandhu, 24x7 free quality power supply, Rs 5 lakh insurance through Rythu Bima etc.
Several state governments including the Centre copied our Rythu Bandhu but none match our financial assistance. The TRS government spends Rs 15,000 crore on Rythu Bandhu in Telangana every year but the BJP government at the Centre spends just Rs16,000 crore per year for the entire India. This shows who is more sincere and committed towards the welfare of farmers,” Rama Rao remarked.
