HYDERABAD: Telangana Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy on Tuesday denounced Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy’s assertions regarding fertiliser subsidies.
He also countered criticism against the BRS government for withdrawing from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) by saying that although the State government had paid a substantial insurance premium amounting to Rs 2,400 crore over a four-year period, farmers had received claims totalling only Rs 1,800 crore.
“This discrepancy resulted in a staggering loss of Rs 600 crore for the State,” Niranjan Reddy said. Speaking at an event in Wanaparthy, the Minister ridiculed Kishan Reddy’s claims, referring to them as “innocent and laugh-worthy.”
He contended that successive Union governments, including the NDA administration, have long been responsible for providing subsidies on fertilisers since the days of the Green Revolution. Niranjan Reddy alleged that it was, in fact, the Narendra Modi government at the Centre that had reduced these subsidies, in contrast to Kishan Reddy’s narrative.
In a lighthearted remark, Niranjan Reddy said that the Union Minister seemed to imply that he and the Prime Minister were personally funding the subsidy disbursements. Asserting that the Union government lacked a distinct currency of its own, he emphasised its reliance on State governments for revenue generation through taxes. Niranjan Reddy also called upon BJP leaders to explain why the Gujarat government had not implemented the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).