KTR asks farmers to up the ante against TG govt

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Sunday wrote an open letter to Telangana farmers calling upon them to unite against the government’s “deceptive and restrictive” actions on the ‘Rythu Bharosa’ scheme.

He accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of avoiding critical questions on the scheme during the recent Assembly session.

“Instead of addressing the concerns of farmers, he diverted the discussion to irrelevant issues to evade accountability,” Rao alleged.

KTR expressed concern over the government’s plans to align ‘Rythu Bharosa’ with the Central PM-Kisan guidelines, which, he claimed, would exclude over half of Telangana farmers from receiving benefits. ‘This is a deliberate attempt to cut benefits and betray the farming community,’ he alleged.

Rao said the ‘Rythu Bandhu’ revolutionised Telangana’s agriculture sector, turning farming into a festival. Over Rs 73,000 crore had been credited directly into the farmers’ accounts across 11 seasons, ensuring transparency and eliminating corruption. He pointed out that Rs 28,000 crore was allocated for loan waivers, resulting in nearly Rs 1 lakh crore being pumped into the hands of farmers to rejuvenate agriculture in the State.

KTR criticised the Congress for failing to fulfil its pre-election promise of Rs 15,000/acre annually under the ‘Rythu Bharosa.’ “It’s been a year since their promise, but instead of delivering, they have reduced the amount and imposed unnecessary conditions, betraying farmers once again,” he said, dismissing the Congress’ allegations that funds from the ‘Rythu Bandhu’ were diverted to real estate as “baseless propaganda aimed at discrediting farmers and the previous government’s initiatives.”

He urged farmers to “question the Congress party’s broken promises, challenge its leaders in villages, and demand accountability.