Agri Leadership Award to KCR is publicity stunt: Congress

Warangal: The Congress leadership here has described Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s selection for Agriculture Leadership Award-2017 as a publicity stunt.

Expressing qualms over genuineness of Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA), which is conferring the award on the CM, the city Congress working president Rajanala Srihari found fault with the TRS leadership on claiming it is a government institution.

Speaking to presspersons in Warangal on Monday, he said though the council is a private institution engaged in the business of guarding the interests of the seeds companies, the TRS leaders have wrongfully claimed it as a Central government body.

The entire TRS leadership was trying to depict the CM as a champion of farmers’ cause but the truth is contrary to their depiction. The claims on the CM’s contribution to agriculture field are illogical in view of the fact that nearly 3,500 farmers ended their lives by committing suicide since the TRS came to power.

The government failed to offer compensation of Rs 6 lakh it promised. In addition to that, the government has been acquiring farmers’ lands forcibly compelling them to take to the streets protesting against the government, Srihari noted.

The protests by evacuees of Mallanna Sagar project speak volumes about unfriendly nature of TRS regime towards farming community. When the farmers have protested to protect their interests, they are hand-cuffed, lathi charged and sent to jail.

Even the courts have taken serious exception to the State government’s approach towards farmers.

The condition of farmers in CM’s constituency is pathetic. The TRS ministers and leaders ridiculed the farmers in Medak, when they committed suicide due to lack support price to agriculture produce. Yet the TRS leaders are shamefully praising the CM for the award, which nothing but a shame, Srihari said.

The crop loan waiver offered by the TRS government has not helped the farming community in anyway. As the waiver was offered in a phased manner, it was adjusted by the banks towards the interests on the loans taken by farmers, the Congress leader explained.

It is not just the CM Chandrashekar Rao, who offered loan waiver, the Congress CM in Karnakata Siddaramaiah too offered the waiver on crop loans worth Rs 8,165 crores at one go benefitting around 22, 27,506 farmers in that State.

Enumamula market former chairman Manda Vinod Kumar, BC Cell president Kothapalli Srinivas, Minority Cell president Mohammed Ayub Khan, spokesperson Ch Venkateshwarlu and others are present.