HYDERABAD: Protesting the eviction of MLAs from the Assembly on Wednesday night, Congress and BJP MLCs in the Legislative Council staged a walk on Thursday. They alleged that the TRS government was resorting to undemocratic means denying the opportunity to register their opposition.
Accusing the government of disowning the farmers by refusing to give an assurance of one-time crop loan waiver, the opposition parties in the Legislative Council launched a scathing attack on the government here Thursday.
Responding to the reply by agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy on farmers’ issues, leader of opposition in the Council Mohd Shabbir Ali said that the reply was not satisfactory. “The government’s reply is not satisfactory. Unless it assures the farming community, as mentioned in their manifesto, to waive off their loans in one-time settlement they will continue to reel under financial stress,” he said.
He said the banks are withholding the documents pledged by the farmers, denying them the option to get fresh loans.
Congress MLC Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy opined that there was a need to declare agricultural emergency in the state to draw the attention of the Centre into the distressing situation. Stating that there was a need to focus on long term irrigation projects to resolve the farmers’ issues, BJP MLC N Ramchander Rao requested the government to invoke rural indebtedness act to save farmers from the private money lenders.
Meanwhile, the agriculture minister claimed that the government had already issued no dues certificates to a good number of farmers. “We have directed all banks not to put pressure on the farmers for repayment of loans,” he said. We would deposit the amount back in farmers’ accounts if they had already repaid the loans, the minister added.