HYDERABAD: The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) staged a Rythu Deeksha at Dharna Chowk on Saturday in protest against newly enacted Farm Acts.
The Opposition party targeted both Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying they were crushing the interests of farmers.
Senior leader Jeevan Reddy, whose name was nearly finalised for the TPCC chief post before it hit a roadblock, called Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar a “Shikhandi” for changing his stand on the farm laws and his government taking a U-turn.
TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded that the Central government withdraw the three contentious farm laws.
Uttam wondered how PM Narendra Modi was not moved by the sight of lakhs of farmers protesting in the severe cold since 44 days.
Despite nine rounds of talks, PM Modi was not willing to guarantee MSP for crops, he said.The Deeksha raised `4 lakh for the protesting farmers.
The Congress has also called for a Raj Bhavan Gherao protest on January 15.
CLP leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the Congress would organise protests demanding that procurement centres in villages continue to function.
Malkajgiri MP Revanth Reddy said he would organise a protest if the farm laws were not retracted.