HYDERABAD: It is now official. The State government will not set up centres for purchasing Rabi paddy from farmers as the Centre has thrown its hands up in a gesture of helplessness in procuring parboiled rice from Telangana. This crucial decision was taken at the State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at his official residence Pragati Bhavan here on Monday.
He said that he was announcing the Cabinet decision with a heavy heart because of the “inept” Central government which has abdicated its social responsibility of procuring foodgrains for building buffer stocks to ensure food security to the people in the country. “It’s time we threw out this BJP government lock, stock and barrel. It is a government of murderers and vultures. It is responsible for the deaths of 750 farmers in Delhi while they were struggling against the draconian farm laws which the Prime Minister withdrew recently, accepting his defeat,” Rao said, while briefing the media on Cabinet decisions.
The Chief Minister, however, said that the farmers were free to cultivate paddy if they want in Rabi but the government would not procure it because the Centre said it cannot take parboiled rice. “Even if you go in for paddy in Rabi, we will surely give you Rythu Bandhu incentive, provide irrigation facility. You will have 24-hour free power supply. But we will not procure Rabi paddy from you and you should know that you are taking a risk,” he said.
However, he clarified that the State government would procure all Kharif paddy though the Centre has said that it cannot take more than 40 lakh tonnes of rice. This time, the expected rice production is about 90 lakh tonnes. “If the Centre does not take the entire produce, we will take it to Delhi and pour it at Prime Minister’s office or India Gate or at Union Minister Kishan Reddy’s residence by hiring 1,000 trucks from here,” he said.
Rao said that the State Cabinet took the decision on Rabi paddy because the Central government had forced the State at knifepoint to give a written undertaking that in future it would not offer Rabi rice for procurement. “As last year’s Rabi paddy was languishing, we had to sign the undertaking,” he said and claimed that Telangana was in the forefront in according priority to agriculture.
The Centre is acting like a street corner grocery shop owner, counting every penny even when it comes to the welfare of farmers. It should procure foodgrains produced by States and not find ways to avoid it, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said and reminded that though it was tough, Telangana had incurred a loss of Rs 10,000 crore last year, by procuring foodgrains at a higher price and selling it for less. “I have not seen a Central government in my life which has descended to such despicable depths,” he said.
The Chief Minister, while stating that the government will not procure Rabi paddy from farmers, however, did not say which crop they should go in for. On the contrary, he wanted the Centre to come out with a clear statement whether it would procure crops other than paddy in Rabi from farmers. “There are no answers from the BJP government to the genuine questions from farmers,” he said.
He also took to task Union Ministers Piyush Goel and G Kishan Reddy for being insensitive to the concerns of farmers. “When a delegation of MPs, Ministers, MLAs and officials called on Goel for the second time recently, he had exclaimed: 'Don’t you have any other business? All of you have come again.' This shows how much concern the BJP has for farmers,” he said.
Describing Kishan Reddy as a minister of incomparable incompetence, the Chief Minister dared him to confront the central government on behalf of farmers whom he is representing. “He is a dunce,” Rao said. The Chief Minister spent a major part of the press conference tearing the BJP governance to shreds at the national level, accusing it of being responsible for the run-down state of the economy, growing poverty and hunger.
“In fact, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh are better off in global hunger index. We are at the 101st position, while Pakistan is at 92nd and the remaining two countries are at the 76th position. The BJP leaders should hang their heads in shame,” he said. He was also critical of the Centre for asking the States to cut VAT on petrol and diesel after increasing their prices. “You increase the prices and you ask us to decrease. What kind of logic is this?” he asked.
He made no bones about the all-out war against the BJP in future. “We will corner them wherever possible. We will oppose tooth and nail the Electricity Amendment Bill which helps the Centre take full control of power distribution in a State where there is a danger of the Centre suspending 24-hour power supply to farm wells. You have borrowed Rs 1.3 lakh crore since you came to power in 2014. What have you achieved?” he asked and pointed out that the BJP, instead was trying to destroy the country by driving a wedge between religions.
At knifepoint
The CM said that the Centre had forced the State at knifepoint to give a written undertaking that in the future it would not offer Rabi rice for procurement
Why are you not procuring paddy, High Court asks State, Centre & FCI
HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Monday issued notices to the State government, Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, directing them to explain by December 6 the reasons for not procuring paddy from the farmers.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice A Rajasekhar Reddy, wanted to know why the paddy was not procured despite the fact that the State government during its virtual meeting with the Secretary of Union Ministry for Consumer Affairs on August 17 agreed and gave an estimation that it will procure 40 lakh metric tonnes of rice between October 2021 to January 2022.