Farmers Will Not Trust BRS Visits To Procurement Centres: Ponguleti

Nalgonda: Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy on Thursday criticised BRS leaders, stating that farmers would not trust their visits to paddy procurement centres, recalling the hardships faced during the previous government’s tenure.

Addressing a Praja Darbar at Edulapuram in Khammam district, he alleged that BRS leaders were trying to regain farmers’ confidence through politically motivated programmes. He said the previous government had lost the trust of farmers due to policies such as Dharani and recalled that farmers were handcuffed by police in Khammam for raising their issues.

Without naming him, the minister targeted former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, alleging that those who had earlier discouraged paddy cultivation were now speaking about procurement. He accused the previous government of neglecting welfare of the poor.

He also criticised Opposition parties for what he termed false propaganda against the state government, attributing it to growing public support for Congress welfare schemes. He said despite electoral setbacks in local body polls, there was no change in the approach of BRS leaders and alleged attempts to destabilise the government would not succeed.

The minister said welfare of the poor remained a priority for the Congress government and highlighted measures aimed at improving living standards. He said the government had revived the Indiramma housing scheme and sanctioned 4.5 lakh houses for eligible beneficiaries.

He said initiatives such as free electricity up to 200 units, supply of fine rice to ration cardholders, issuance of new ration cards and free bus travel for women in TGSRTC services had reduced the financial burden on families. He added that Young Indira Integrated Residential Schools and Telangana Public Schools were aimed at providing quality education to the poor.

District collector T.S. Divakara and additional collector Sreeja were present.