Hyderabad: The TRS-led state government’s plans to discourage farmers from cultivating paddy in the upcoming rabi season has snowballed into a political slugfest between the ruling party in the state and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the Huzurabad bypoll on October 30.
While BJP state president Bandi Sanjay sat on one-day Rythu Deeksha against the state government's plans on Thursday, agriculture minister Singireddy Niranjan Reddy released a copy of a letter written by the BJP-led Central government to the state government stating that it will not purchase boiled rice stocks produced in Telangana state in future.
The letter, dated September 30, 2021, was written by Jai Prakash, under-secretary, Union ministry of food and public distribution and was addressed to the commissioner of civil supplies, Telangana. In his letter, Jai Prakash had stated: "No parboiled rice to be delivered by the state government of Telangana to Food Corporation of India in future."
Holding the Centre responsible for the state government’s plans to regulate paddy cultivation in Telangana in the Rabi season, the state agriculture minister demanded the Telangana BJP leaders continue their deekshas until the Central government resumes the procurement of boiled rice from Telangana.
"Telangana government has been repeatedly requesting the Centre since February this year to procure boiled rice from Telangana. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao personally met Union civil supplies minister Piyush Goyal twice in Delhi in September and submitted a representation in this regard. But there is no response so far. But the BJP leaders in Telangana are now enacting dramas in the name of Rythu Deekshas to gain political mileage in the Huzurabad bypoll,” the minister claimed.
“People know who is forcing the Telangana government to regulate paddy cultivation. Since the BJP government at the Centre has decided against boiled rice procurement from Telangana, we are forced to regulate paddy farming," Niranjan Reddy stated.
