TRS, Congress in war of words over paddy procurement

Rahul Gandhi said every grain should be purchased from farmers by putting an end to anti-farmer policies

The ruling TRS and the opposition Congress in Telangana were engaged in a war of words on Tuesday over paddy procurement following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's tweet on the issue.

"BJP, TRS governments doing politics over the labour of farmers, ignoring their moral responsibility in procuring paddy from Telangana farmers, is shameful," Gandhi tweeted in Telugu.

He said every grain should be purchased from farmers by putting an end to anti-farmer policies. Congress would fight on behalf of farmers till the last grain is procured in Telangana, he said.

Responding to Gandhi's tweet, TRS MLC K Kavitha, daughter of TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, claimed that the Congress MP should express his protest in the well of the house in support of Telangana MPs who are protesting that there should not be one policy for Punjab and Haryana and another policy for other states over paddy procurement.

It should not be just expressing solidarity on Twitter for political gain, she said. Gandhi should demand 'one nation, one procurement' policy, she claimed.

Dismissing Kavitha's comments, state Congress president and MP Revanth Reddy said the TRS MPs are not fighting in Lok Sabha. They are only passing time in the central hall, he said. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had signed an agreement in August last year that the state government would not supply boiled rice to the Food Corporation of India (FCI), he said.

That has turned out to be a noose for Telangana farmers, he alleged. State Health Minister T Harish Rao, a nephew of the Chief Minister and TRS MLA A Jeevan Reddy on behalf of TRS, and AICC in-charge of party affairs in Telangana Manickam Tagore and AICC spokesperson Sravan Dasoju for Congress were also part of the war of words.

Meanwhile, the ruling TRS and BJP have already been engaged in a bitter war of words over paddy procurement.

While the TRS government demanded that the Centre procure the entire marketable surplus of paddy during the current rabi season, the Centre assured that excess stocks of raw rice would be procured from Telangana as per the quality specified by the FCI.