HYDERABAD: Union minister for tourism and culture G. Kishan Reddy alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao was provoking farmers on paddy procurement for protecting his family political interests. Chandrashekar Rao was terming BJP an ‘anti-farmers party’ by spreading false propaganda on paddy and rice procurement, he said and made it clear that the Central government was ready to procure all stocks of rice from Telangana state.
Speaking to reporters at BJP central office in New Delhi on Friday, Kishan Reddy came down heavily on Chandrasekhar Rao. “Chandrashekar Rao is politicising paddy procurement by creating unrest among the farming community. There is no issue on paddy procurement from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu states. Why has the problem been arising only in Telangana state?” the union minister questioned.
Kishan Reddy pointed out that Telangana state government did not allocate any funds for paddy procurement in the state so far. He said the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had always procured rice, not paddy. State government failed to inform the Central government over cultivation of paddy details, he said. The Central government was ready to procure the rice from the state, he added.
“Actually, the Chief Minister agreed not to supply raw rice to the FCI,” Kishan Reddy said.
Kishan Reddy alleged that Chandrashekar Rao was trying to adopt the West Bengal model in Telangana state to suppress the BJP. He said people of Telangana would not spare the TRS.
