New Delhi, April 11
Stepping up protest against the Centre’s paddy procurement policy, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Monday led a dharna in the National Capital organised by his party, and warned the Narendra Modi Government to respond within 24 hours if it will buy the grain from the state.
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If the Central Government failed to respond, Rao threatened to take the protest across the country.
This is the Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s first protest rally in Delhi after coming to power in the state in 2014. TRS working president and Chief Minister’s son K T Ram Rao and party MPs, MLCs, MLAs, and entire Cabinet ministers sat on the dharna.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait also expressed solidarity with the Telangana Chief Minister at the dharna here.
Staging a protest at Telangana Bhawan here, Rao warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “…Don’t play with the sentiments of farmers, they have power to topple the government. History says that all governments have fallen whenever farmers were put in hardship.” “With folded hands, I urge Modiji and (Piyush) Goyalji, to procure paddy in Telangana like you buy in other states. We will wait for 24 hours for your response to our demand on paddy procurement. After that, we will take a call,” he said.
Rao further said that the country’s farmers are not beggars and are seeking minimum support price (MSP) for their produce. However, “injustice” has been meted out to Telangana farmers by not procuring the paddy from the current rabi season, he said.
About 15 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice from the current rabi season has not been procured from the state, he claimed.
