Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy has alleged that the Congress party has betrayed the farming community and people of Telangana in wholesale as its Government in the State has failed to keep most of the promises made before the elections, particularly the ones made to farmers.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said the drought conditions prevailing in the State now were not natural but man-made as it was due to the failure of the Congress Government to make necessary interventions at the appropriate time.
He ridiculed the Congress leaders questioning the commitment of former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao towards the agriculture sector as it was he who had introduced innovative schemes such as Rythu Bandhu and Rythu Bima to give timely input/investment support to farmers ahead of the two agricultural seasons and providing them with life insurance cover with benefit of ₹5 lakh to the immediate survivors on the death of insured farmer, irrespective of the cause of death.
Mr. Reddy suggested the Congress leaders go to villages and find out who had harmed the farmers and who had pumped back life into agriculture. He claimed it was during the previous BRS rule that Telangana which was left to turn barren was made to turn green by improving irrigation facilities.
At a time when the farmers were resorting to extreme steps, again, out of distress and struggling hard to mobilise investment for taking up cultivation, the Congress leaders were busy encouraging defections from BRS and admitting leaders of all hues. He suggested the Minister for Agriculture Tummala Nageswara Rao give water for irrigation, go to farmers and infuse confidence.
He sought to know why Mr. Nageswara Rao, who was well aware of the condition of farming in Telangana before 2014 and after, had not consoled the farmers who had burnt down their standing crops which were withered due to lack of water for irrigation before they reached the harvesting stage. He demanded that the government give ₹500 per quintal bonus to paddy and give compensation to farmers who lost crops immediately and divert Godavari water, which still was flowing at about 4,000 cusecs at Kaleshwaram.
