SANGAREDDY: BRS working president and Sircilla MLA KT Rama Rao has alleged that Congress workers were let off by the police in Lagcharla incident while innocent workers of his party were arrested. Rama Rao along with several other BRS leaders, including local MLA Chinta Prabhakar, on Friday met the farmers and party workers lodged in the Sangareddy jail.
Later speaking to media persons, the former minister said, “The farmers of Lagcharla are fighting to protect their lands from being grabbed by the government for a nominal price of Rs 10 lakh per acre while their true value is Rs 70 lakh per acre. The farmers are not ready to give up their land and they are fighting against injustice.” The BRS will extend every possible support to the farmers in their fight for justice, he reiterated.
Claiming that the farmers of Lagcharla, Hakimpet and two other tandas have been agitating for the past nine months in protest against the government’s move to acquire their lands for pharma units, the former minister wondered how Chief Minister A Revenath Reddy was supporting the acquisition of 3,000 acres for pharma companies. Stating that Revanth Reddy himself opposed land acquisition for Pharma City, Rama Rao accused the CM of planning a real estate business in the 14,000 acres land acquired by the previous BRS government.
“Farmers have revolted only after the government has announced the establishment of pharma village. They were arrested only for expressing their opposition. Even the panchayat secretary who had just returned from census work was kept in jail though he did not participate in the protest. An ITI student studying at Wanaparthi who came to see his parents was 70 persons arrested and shifted in two DCM vans to police stations, alleged former IT minister.
He alleged that Dudyal mandal Congress president Shekhar, party workers Ramesh, Narasimhulu and Ramulu were let off by the police on the instructions of the chief minister’s brother Tirupathi Reddy. The BRS working president accused Tirupathi Reddy of acting like a de facto CM.
Demanding the release of the arrested BRS leaders and farmers, the BRS working president threatened to oppose establishment of pharma villages in Sangareddy district and elsewhere.