Paddy fight will continue: KCR
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao
Hyderabad: "The fight will continue. It will not stop. We will haunt and chase Centre till it agrees to buy every grain of paddy produced in Telangana," Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Tuesday.
Addressing the media after a meeting with party MPs and legislators, KCR said that the Centre has been creating problems for the State. "There is no head or tail," in what the Centre says on several issues.
He said the Centre and the state BJP should know that TRS is a 'Udyama' and evolved from massive agitations to achieve the separate state. They cannot be cowed down by gimmicks being played by state and central BJP. He reiterated that the Centre was adopting a dual policy on the issue of purchase of paddy.
They buy 100 per cent paddy in Punjab but here they refuse. KCR said the state BJP president was enacting street dramas by visiting IKPs. The State Government is committed to buy the paddy and has opened 6,000 purchase centres. It is the BJP that should make it clear whether they will buy rabi crops or not.
He said while the government was demanding clarity on it, state BJP and central leaders were blaming the state regarding the kharif crop. When the government advised farmers not to go in for paddy during rabi as the Centre declared that it will not buy, the state party without giving any assurance on it was resorting to agitations here.
TRS cannot remain a silent spectator to such dramas by the BJP.
He said TRS would hold a 'maha dharna' near Indira Park between 11 am and 2 pm on Thursday. Later, a delegation of ministers, MPs and MLAs would meet the Governor and submit a memorandum. He said he would also write letters to the Prime Minister and Union Agriculture Minister over the issue.
If the Centre does not respond within two days, they would ask the farmers not to go in for paddy during rabi and would also announce a detailed action plan. The party MPs will also raise the issue in Parliament. Replying to a question, he denied that TRS was soft on BJP. He said they had opposed farm laws and power bill and would now fight for the interest of farmers.