Reach Out to Farmers and Win Their Support, Santosh Urges Telangana State BJP

 Hyderabad: Buoyed by the big success during the recent Lok Sabha elections where it won eight seats in Telangana, the party’s central leadership has decided to sustain the momentum by aggressively taking up farmers' issues and corner the state government on its failed promises.

Given the inordinate delay in implementing the farm loan waiver scheme, the state BJP leaders have been directed to launch a ‘farmers’ helpline’ to get complaints on farm loan waiver issues. The party opines that over 70 per cent of farmers in the state have not been able to avail of the benefits.

National general secretary B.L. Santosh inspected the party office to check if the farmers’ helpline was functioning well. He sought a strong team in the call centre to receive thousands of calls from farmers and ensure that their confidence level in BJP will grow seeing the responses. He asked state leaders, including members of kisan morcha, to give a patient hearing to the complaints and clear all their grievances. They should bring such a pressure on the state government that all the farmers will have their farm loans waived.

Talking to Deccan Chronicle, BJP general secretary Gujjula Premender Reddy said that they will be launching a ‘Ryhtu raccha banda’ signature campaign in the State on August 7 to receive complaints of farmers and bring confidence among the farming community. Of the 64 lakh farmers who took farm loans in the state, hardly 25 percent of farmers, mostly Congress activists, are getting the benefits of farm loan waiver, he said. The rest of the farmers are highly dissatisfied with the Congress government, he said.

“Santosh told the leaders that a small section of farmers getting the benefits had disillusioned most farmers, who were angry with the Congress government. The Congress did likewise in Karnataka,” Premender said

Meanwhile, the BJP is holding the state office-bearers meeting at the State party office on August 6 to discuss the political situation in the state and the crisis staring at the farming community. The meeting will be chaired by state party chief and Union minister G. Kishan Reddy. They will also finalise the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ programme scheduled to be held from August 11 to 15.

General secretary Dugyala Pradeep Kumar, Kisan Morcha national executive member Papaiah Goud and its state secretary Anjaiah Yadav and others attended the meeting.