CM should apologise to farmers: Dr K Laxman

Hyderabad: BJP MP and OBC Morcha National President Dr K Laxman has demanded that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy apologised to the farmers, stating that the farmers of Telangana would not forgive this betrayal. He criticised the Congress party for deceiving farmers by winning their trust based on unfulfilled promises. On Sunday, Laxman stated that government schemes have been undermined since Congress took over and emphasised that farmers are struggling, saying, "Loan waivers, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bharosa, and bonuses have all faced cuts."

He noted that in a recent Congress Cabinet meeting, it was decided to provide Rs 12,000 annually to landless farmer families, a figure significantly lower than the Rs 15,000 promised during the election campaign. He compared this to the previous commitment of providing Rs 7,500 per acre each season under Rythu Bharosa, asserting that this reflects Congress party's deceitful tactics. Dr K Laxman said that it is once again proved Congress guarantees are unreliable. He questioned why farmers continue to be marginalised. He pointed out that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who has not implemented Rythu Bharosa twice and burdened farmers, is now trying to rebrand anew. He stated that the Warangal declaration is false. The assurances given by leaders such as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and CM Revanth Reddy have been broken. On the "Indiramma Rythu Bharosa," promises have been made for Rs. 15,000 per acre per year to landowning farmers and Rs. 12,000 to landless farmers. However, the government has failed to honour its commitment to procure paddy at MSP. Dr Laxman expressed concern that the rainy season is over and Yasangi is nearing its end, "Yet the government has not provided assured the farmers, who are still awaiting investment assistance." Furthermore, Congress announced plans for a special satellite survey to assess cultivation figures. Laxman questioned whether farmers would receive assurance based on their applications or the government's crop survey, on which clarification is needed.

Dr Laxman called Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to publicly apologise to the farmers for betrayal and mentioned that farmers are owed Rs 17,500 each. He expressed discontent over the lack of loan waivers, increased pensions, and assurance for farmers. He noted that every farmer in the State is owed Rs 17,500 under the Rythu Bandhu scheme.

According to government data, there are 42 lakh farmers eligible for the promised farm loan waiver so far, only 25.35 lakh farmers have benefited, leaving 16.65 lakh farmers still needing assistance. The total number of beneficiaries has decreased by 14 lakh compared to the previous government's loan waiver of one lakh rupees. He questioned the rationale behind this reduction. He also pointed out that the state government has not fulfilled its promised Rs 500 bonus on around ten crop types, including rice, cotton, maize, goats, soybean, chilli, turmeric, red maize, sugarcane, and sorghum. The Congress party, which previously promised a bonus of Rs. 500, has not provided any bonuses for paddy, only offering assistance for fine grains.