No Meters On Farm Motors, Asserts CM Revanth

Throwing an open challenge to the BRS during an informal interaction with media persons, Revanth Reddy said the Congress would not contest elections if it installed meters on farm motors or discontinued free power supply to farmers. In turn, he challenged the BRS to withdraw from electoral politics if the government continued free power and did not install meters.

The Chief Minister accused BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of attempting to secure a political lifeline by using farmers as a shield. He said the Rythu discom was being established solely to ensure uninterrupted and quality electricity to the agricultural sector.

Government departments and public sector institutions consuming free electricity would be linked to the proposed discom. Claiming that such a model had never been implemented anywhere in the country, Revanth Reddy said the dedicated discom would improve accountability and also enable the government to procure power at lower costs based on requirements.

Alleging that the BJP and BRS were trying to sustain themselves on a foundation of falsehoods, the Chief Minister targeted Union minister G. Kishan Reddy over paddy procurement. He said while the Centre fixed the minimum support price (MSP), it was purchasing only a portion of paddy from farmers and not a single grain of maize and jowar. The state government, he said, was procuring paddy, jowar and maize produced by farmers and had so far purchased 62 lakh metric tonnes of paddy. He added that even rain-soaked paddy was being procured at MSP and that the state government was paying a bonus of `500 per quinal on fine varieties of paddy.

Revanth Reddy said the Centre was purchasing only about 32 per cent of Telangana’s paddy output and questioned why it was not procuring the entire produce. He maintained that the distress faced by farmers stemmed from the Centre’s refusal to undertake full procurement. Warning of intensified protests, he said if the Centre failed to buy the produce, the Congress would take tractors loaded with paddy to the residences of BJP leaders, just as BJP leaders had earlier organised bus trips for protests against delayed paddy procurement. He specifically said paddy would be dumped in front of the residence of Kalvakuntla Kishan Rao (referring to G Kishan Reddy) and that Congress leaders would stage dharnas before BJP leaders’ homes.

On inter-state water disputes, the Chief Minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had repeatedly advocated resolution of river water issues through coordination among states. However, he alleged that despite seeking an appointment to discuss the Tummidihatti project, the Maharashtra Chief Minister had not responded. Revanth Reddy questioned whether the Centre, which facilitated the transfer of seven mandals to Andhra Pradesh for the Polavaram project, could not similarly help Telangana resolve issues concerning its interests.

Launching a attack on the previous BRS government, Revanth Reddy alleged that those who were in power had indulged in large-scale corruption. He claimed that ₹50 lakh each had been collected from stone crusher operators and questioned why Harish Rao was silent on the Idulakunta Cheruvu issue. He alleged that Globarena, at the centre of a controversy over correction of CBSE answersheets, was a benami company of BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao and that the BJP government at the Centre handed over CBSE digital evaluation contract to the same company, which induldged in irregularities in Telangana inter exams in 2019 during BRS regime.

Responding to criticism over his recent unveiling of N.T. Rama Rao’s statue, Revanth Reddy said linking NTR to caste or regional identity reflected poor thinking. He pointed out that former BRS minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar had installed an NTR statue in Khammam and that the BRS government had allotted 10 acres to the Kamma community organisation in Hyderabad.

He also noted that he himself had named Potti Sriramulu Telugu University after Suravaram Pratap Reddy. Revanth Reddy questioned why K.T. Rama Rao had not changed his name if objections were being raised about honouring NTR. He said Chandrasekhar had never questioned why statues of Telangana leaders were not installed in Andhra Pradesh despite launching a party there. Stressing that he had no interest in pursuing politics through controversies and emotional issues, he said his sole focus remained development of Telangana.

The Chief Minister referred to comments made by BRS leader Balka Suman that farmers were not participating in protests and that only BRS workers were attending dharnas. He said the government was creating awareness among farmers about crop diversification and was procuring maize at MSP.

Reiterating that expenditure on farmers should not be viewed as a burden, he defended the proposed Rythu Discom, noting that the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) was conducting public hearings on the proposal. He questioned how critics could complain about a lack of employees in the rythu discom even before it had formally come into existence and asked why those opposing the idea were simultaneously criticising its structure.

On finances, Revanth Reddy said the state government was borrowing about ₹70,000 crore annually while simultaneously repaying debts worth ₹95,000 crore accumulated by the previous BRS regime. He criticised Harish Rao for not acknowledging the debt repayments being made by the Congress government. The Chief Minister said the Congress government had already stated that it would raise loans of ₹54,000 crore in the Budget and clarified that borrowing beyond the limits prescribed under the FRBM Act was not possible.

Revanth Reddy challenged Harish Rao to publicly swear in the name of Chandrasekhar Rao that he would remain in the BRS. Recalling that Harish Rao had approached former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy in the past, Revanth Reddy claimed he was aware of whom Harish Rao was currently in touch with but chose not to reveal details. He questioned why Harish Rao had skipped BRS public meeting in Jagtial and travelled to Delhi instead. Revanth Reddy said Harish Rao himself had no clarity on his political future. He said Harish Rao would not contest on a BRS ‘B-form’ in the next elections. Revanth Reddy further said there was little doubt that the BJP and BRS would contest future elections together.

He said that when the government had referred two cases of the BRS regime to the CBI based on preliminary evidence, why had the Centre not initiated the probe.

Reaffirming his political future in Telangana, Revanth Reddy declared that he would remain as CM until at least 2034 and said public welfare continued to be his primary objective. He asserted that there had been no change in his approach and described his partnership with TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud as a successful combination.

Claiming that they had won every election fought together so far, Revanth Reddy expressed confidence that they would also emerge victorious in future elections and added that Mahesh Kumar Goud could secure a significant position if the Congress came to power at the Centre. He also clarified that there was no urgency regarding the conduct of GHMC elections.