TRS to hold dharna across Telangana state seeking paddy procurement by Centre

Hyderabad: The ruling TRS would lead an agitation across the state on Friday to step up pressure on the BJP-led government at the Centre to procure paddy from Telangana as is done in Punjab.

Ministers, TRS MLAs, MLCs, MPs and other elected representatives will sit on a four-hour dharna from 10 am to 1 pm in their respective constituencies. TRS leaders said Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao will sit on dharna in Delhi later, if the Centre failed to procure paddy from Telangana.

They said there was no need for the CM to take part in the dharnas on Friday demanding that the Centre procure paddy from Telangana even during the rabi season, said TRS MLC and Rythu Bandhu Samithi chairman Palla Rajeshwar Reddy and TS civil supplies corporation chairman Mareddy Srinivas Reddy at a press conference at Telangana Bhavan.

TRS working president and IT minister Rama Rao will take part in the dharna in his home constituency Siricilla while finance minister Harish Rao will lead the protest in Siddipet.

Ministers, MLAs, MLCs and other elected representatives from the GHMC limits will sit on dharna at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park. TRS leaders and cadre in all the districts would organise farmers in large numbers for the dharnas.

The ruling party would continue the agitation in various forms until the Centre agreed to procure paddy from Telangana. TRS leaders hit back at BJP for holding dharnas on Thursday on the issue of paddy procurement across the state.

"The BJP government at the Centre issued orders stating it will not procure paddy from Telangana in rabi season. The BJP leaders in Telangana held dharnas today across the state demanding that the Telangana government to procure paddy. People are laughing at these BJP leaders for holding dharnas against the state government while it should rather be done against their government at the Centre. There were no farmers in the BJP dharnas except their party activists. Farmers understood how BJP leaders were cheating them and hence they stayed away from the dharnas today," Rajeshwar Reddy said.

Finance minister Harish Rao asked BJP leaders to stop their 'dramas' in Telangana. "Although the Centre did not clarify on how much paddy they would procure from Telangana in the kharif so far, let alone rabi, KCR garu opened over 6,500 paddy procurement centres in all districts and started paddy procurement on his own. Already 4,000 centres have started purchasing paddy and thousands of crores of rupees has been paid to farmers through online mode.”

“Can any BJP leader explain why they are holding dharnas against the Telangana government despite the Centre running away from its responsibility," the minister asked.