Telangana team to stay in Delhi till Piyush Goyal gives clarity

After their meeting with Piyush Goyal on Dec 21, TRS Ministers said that there was no progress in talks as the Centre has not given any clarity on the target for procurement of Kharif rice.

For representational purposes

HYDERABAD: The stalemate over paddy procurement continues even after a delegation of Telangana Ministers, led by Singireddy Niranjan Reddy (Agriculture), held talks with Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal at Delhi on Tuesday. After the meeting, TRS Ministers said that there was no progress in talks as the Centre has not given any clarity on the target for procurement of Kharif rice.  “Unless we get a clear statement, we will not leave Delhi,” Reddy said.

But Goyal stuck to his guns, saying that though the Centre was ready to procure rice, TS was not coming forward to deliver it. “Telangana is yet to deliver 27 lakh tonnes of last Rabi’s rice to FCI,” he said. Earlier, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy asked the State government whether it has no responsibility in coming to the rescue of farmers and why it was “blaming the Centre all the time”.