Centre must buy paddy from Telangana, demands Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy

Hyderabad: Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy along with the TRS party leaders, workers and farmers on Monday staged a dharna in Ranga Reddy against the Central government over the paddy procurement issue. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the Centre has to buy the paddy from the farmers of the State as per the guidelines of the Central Food Ministry. She said that it is the responsibility of the BJP at the Centre to buy paddy from the State. She said that the Centre is fooling the farmers in the State on the same issue. She recalled that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had asked the farmers not to produce paddy in the month of Yasangi as he was aware of the Centre's partiality towards the state. She added that the BJP leaders in the State provoked the farmers to produce paddy and assured them that the Centre would buy it. Now BJP leaders are mum about the issue, she added.

Recently, Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao came down heavily on the Central government over the paddy procurement issue. KTR said that the BJP leaders in the State and at the Centre are confusing the farmers of the State. He said that on one hand, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy says that the Centre will procure the paddy and on the other hand Union Minister Piyush Goyal says that the Centre will only buy the raw rice from the farmers. He said that the Centre has the responsibility of buying paddy from Telangana.

He slammed the BJP leaders in the State for playing politics over the paddy purchase issue and added that the Central government is the anti-people government. He recalled that the Ministers had gone to meet the Union Minister Piyush Goyal regarding the same. We have asked the Central government over their stand on paddy procurement, he added.

On the Occasion, the TRS party along with farmers will hold protests at the Mandal headquarters against the Central government on April 4. He urged all the farmers in the state to take part in the protests against the Central government. He added that on April 6 the TRS will hold rasta roko on 4 national highways such as Vijayawada, Delhi, Nagpur and Mumbai. On April 7, protests will be held under the leadership of all the Ministers and MLAs at all the district headquarters in the State. KTR asked to put up a black flag on the houses as a protest against the BJP at the Centre.

He also asked to burn the effigy of BJP Central government Union Ministers in every village. On April 10, Ministers, MLAs every person holding president or chief post such as DCCB, MPTC, ZPTC etc will visit Delhi and hold protests against the Central government