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Updated April 11th, 2022 at 18:19 IST

Telangana BJP counter-protests over paddy procurement; asks KCR to buy paddy or step down

The TRS govt has been demanding that the Centre procure paddy from the state's farmers, however, the union government has maintained that it would buy raw rice.

Reported by: Megha Rawat
Telangana
Image: PTI, ANI | Image:self
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Telangana CM must buy paddy or resign, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded. As the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) staged a dharna in New Delhi on April 11 over the paddy procurement row, the BJP in Telangana organised a protest demanding that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao either purchase paddy produced by the state's farmers or step down from his post.

Union Minister V Muraleedharan, state BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other leaders attended the agitation.

A poster of BJP Telangana chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar mentions, “ KCR what is your problem in producing rice. Why this dharna? Is it for politics or for farmers? Buy rice if you can, else step down.” 

Alleging that the BJP-led NDA government discriminated against Telangana, TRS has taken up a series of protests, including road blockades, for nearly 10 days.

In addition to that, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait has also joined the protest staged by TRS' elected representatives including its MPs, MLCs, and MLAs in Delhi. In the pictures from the protest site, people in huge numbers can be seen gathering in front of the stage and raising slogans against the central government.

While the TRS government has been demanding that the Centre procure paddy from the state, the union government has maintained that it would buy raw rice.

Telangana BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar recently alleged that the TRS government's "politicking on paddy procurement" smacks of a large-scale conspiracy to help middlemen make hundreds of crores and divert the anger of farmers towards the Centre. The ruling party in Telangana claims that the Centre isn’t procuring paddy from the Telangana farmers. 

TRS workers demands ‘one nation-one foodgrain procurement policy’ 

Recently, the TRS workers had blocked four National Highways in Telangana to stress on their demand for a “uniform” procurement policy in the country. The party decided to protest in Delhi in their bid to raise the issue at the national level.

On March 24, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal assured farmers of Telangana that there is absolutely no discrimination among the farmers from different states and added that some politicians in Telangana are misleading the farmers in the state.

The Telangana government has been pressing the Centre for the procurement of the entire paddy produced in the state. Last year, a delegation of Ministers from the state had even met Union Ministers to make a clear announcement on paddy procurement, including the quantity.

Image: PTI, ANI

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Published April 11th, 2022 at 18:19 IST

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