Centre anti-farmer, charge BRS leaders
HYDERABAD: Responding to the call given by BRS working president KT Rama Rao, a large number of farmers and BRS leaders staged protests across the State on Friday against the Union government’s stand on the implementation of NREGA works.
The Centre had raised certain objections in the NREGA works executed in the State and directed the State government to return around Rs 152 crore spent on NREGA. Objecting to this, BRS working president KT Rama Rao called upon the party leaders to stage protests in all the districts on Friday.
Several ministers and senior BRS leaders took part in the protests, raising slogans against the Narendra Modi government. They wondered what was wrong if the State government constructed drying platforms with NREGS funds.
Planning Board vice-chairman B Vinod Kumar participated in the protest at Huzurabad in Karimnagar district. He said that the construction of drying platforms would help farmers. Stating that around 58% of the country’s population was dependent on agriculture, SC Welfare Minister Koppula Eshwar urged the Centre not to discriminate against farmers. As the State government did not agree to fixing meters to agriculture pump sets, the Centre was troubling the BRS government by raising objections to the NREGS works, he alleged.
BRS leaders staged a protest near Vivekananda statue in Medchal. They dared the BJP to fight with the BRS politically and not target the farmers. They said that people of Telangana would teach a fitting lesson to the BJP.
Protest to hide irregularities in implementation: Bandi
Meanwhile, BJP State president Bandi Sanjay accused the BRS of perpetrating irregularities amounting to Rs 161 crore in NREGA funds which he claimed were diverted and misutilised by the State government.
When the Centre asked the State to return the funds, BRS leaders were trying to rake up Telangana sentiment and instigate the people to cover up their own wrongdoings, Sanjay alleged, citing this as the reason behind the ‘Maha Dharna’.