Phone-tapping case: Will come out with facts soon, says KCR
RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: Former Chief Minister and BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday said that he would respond to the alleged phone-tapping case very soon and reveal the facts. He said that in the capacity of a two-term former chief minister, he would give clarity on the issue without fail. His response comes in the wake of the arrest of senior police officers in the Intelligence wings who worked closely with him.
Addressing media persons here, KCR alleged that a crisis gripped the agriculture sector in the state because of the incompetence of the Congress government.
He threatened to lead a march with 50,000 farmers to Medigadda if the government fails to repair the barrage and provide immediate relief to the farming community.
“Do they (Congress) even know how many pumps the Kaleshwaram project has? Minor lapses do happen in projects. They are showing them through magnifying glasses,” the former chief minister said.
He threatened to launch a massive agitation against the government’s “criminal negligence” in repairing the Medigadda barrage. KCR accused the Congress government of intentionally neglecting the barrage repairs, resulting in extensive damage to crops.
Sent list of 209 farmers who died by suicide to govt: KCR
KCR said that he had sent the list of 209 farmers who died by suicide during the last 100 days. “I sent the list to the chief secretary and there is no follow up action till now,” he said.
The former CM, after inspecting crop damage in Karimnagar and Siriclla districts, demanded `25 lakh as ex-gratia to the kin of the farmers who ended their lives and payment of `25,000 per acre to the farmers whose crops withered due to the drought conditions.
He said that standing corps in about 15 lakh acres had dried up because of lack of water. “The crisis is the making of the Congress government,” KCR said and demanded that enumeration of crop damage should commence immediately and compensation be paid without any further delay.
After the advent of the Congress government, the state slipped back into the pre-2014 days when people in Telangana which was part of undivided state of AP used to suffer due to lack of drinking water and irrigation facility, he said. The Congress failed to implement the promises it made during the run-up to the recent Assembly elections, he alleged.
KCR said that the state government had released water to the left canal of Nagarjuna Sagar only after he visited the parched lands and distressed farmers in Suryapet district recently. The same day the government released Kaleshwaram water into the flood flow canal, after coming to know of his farmers’ outreach programme in Karimnagar and Sircilla districts today, he said.
Describing Fasal Bima as a useless scheme of the central government, the BRS chief said that it had no takers even in Gujarat.
KCR claimed he remained silent for the last four months because he wanted to give enough time to the Congress leaders to find their feet, but the governance has gone from bad to worse, forcing him to come out and expose the inefficiency of the government, he said.
According to KCR, the caving in of the piers of Medigadda barrage was no cause for alarm as such incidents were “common”.