Union Minister and Telangana BJP President G Kishan Reddy accused the Congress party of once again deceiving Telangana farmers.
Speaking to the media at the state party office in Nampally on Wednesday, Reddy criticised the Congress for failing to fulfill its pre-election promises.
He noted that Congress had promised to waive farmers’ loans within 100 days of coming to power, with a waiver amount of Rs 2 lakh, but has not implemented this promise.
Reddy pointed out that the Congress had also promised Rs 15,000 under the Rythu Bharosa scheme to farmers and tenant farmers, along with a Rs 500 bonus per quintal for paddy crops.
However, these promises have not been honoured, and the Congress government appears to have no intention of implementing them.
The BJP leader highlighted that the Congress made numerous promises during the parliamentary elections, only to forget them post-election. He accused Congress leaders of using religion to manipulate people and criticised their delay in implementing the promised loan waivers, which are now postponed to August.
Reddy mentioned that the Congress had assured farmers of a Rs 2 lakh loan waiver on Sonia Gandhi’s birthday (December 9), but Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy campaigned against farmers taking loans from banks.
He also noted the Congress’s announcement of a Rs 500 bonus for paddy cultivation, but said it was limited to thin paddy (fine rice), which is less cultivated in the state.
Reddy further criticized the Congress government for its failure to meet the Central Government’s procurement agreements. The state was supposed to supply 22 lakh metric tonnes of rice for the Kharif season but has not met this target.
The central government agreed to procure 75 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, but the state government has only collected 33 lakh metric tonnes for the Rabi season of 2023-24.
He accused the Congress government of negligence, leading to grain losses due to untimely rains. Despite weeks passing since the grain was moved to purchase centres, procurement remains slow and inefficient, causing significant distress to farmers.
Reddy demanded that the Congress government fulfill its promises and provide the bonus for both big and small paddy grains.
He highlighted that the Narendra Modi government has increased the MSP on grains by 61 per cent over the last nine and a half years, from Rs 1350 in 2014 to Rs 2200 today.
He questioned the Congress’s commitment to farmers, stating that the party has a history of betraying the nation and that their recent actions have only reinforced this perception.
