BJP flays Harish for mocking Centre

Saffron party leader G Kishan Reddy takes a dig at AP, TS governments for ignoring the plight of chilli growers

​Khammam: BJP Floor Leader in Assembly G Kishan Reddy has on Friday said both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have failed miserably to rescue the chilli growers.

Reddy said despite farmers raising a hue and cry over the steep fall in chilli prices for the last few weeks, the TRS government has not taken any remedial measures to stabilise the prices.

“The State government totally failed in ensuring remunerative price for chilli,” Reddy said, stating that situation was no different in neighbouring AP. Neither the district collector nor any minister visited Khammam market yard to know the plight of the farmers, he said.

He demanded the State government to provide Rs 3,000 bonus per quintal in addition to the Centre’s assistance of Rs 5,000 and Rs 1,250 bonus to rescue the distressed farmers. Reddy took objection to the remarks of Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao against the Centre’s assistance of Rs 5,000 a quintal.

Further, he sought to know what the TRS government has done for chilli farmers. Harish reportedly said that support price of Rs 5,000 a quintal was the joke of the millennium after the Centre announced it a couple of days ago. Instead of criticising the Centre, the TRS government should focus on farmers’ issues, he said.

Reddy, who was here to meet the chilli farmers at the market yard, was taken into custody by Khammam police when he along with the party cadre took out a protest rally.

Party’s Khammam district president Sanne Uday Pratap accused the government of supporting the traders. He alleged that the traders who purchased the produce at throw away prices were earning crores of rupees.

Kisan Morcha district president Gutha Venkateswarlu, senior leaders Kondapalli Sridhar and D Satyanarayana were among others present.