Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) chief Revanth Reddy and other senior party leaders along with party workers carried out a rally from public gardens to the Agriculture Commissioner office over the issue of paddy procurement.
Addressing the media persons here today, Reddy said, "We have come to submit a petition to the Commissioner of Agriculture on the problems of the farmers. Central and state governments have formed a Joint Acting Committee and are cheating the farmers. We are asking for a minimum price for the harvested crop."
Accusing the Centre of only serving the big businesses, Reddy said, "The Modi government is only for the Ambanis and Adani."
The TPCC chief further said that Congress is going to start an agitation from tomorrow till November 23 on farmers' issues.
"Tomorrow I will go to Kamareddy district and will be with the farmers. We are giving time to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao till November 23. After that we will surround Pragathi Bhavan with the farmers," he said.
"The Congress movement will not stop till every grain is bought. If the Chief Minister does not buy grain, the walls of Pragathi Bhavan will be smashed," warned Reddy.
Zaheer Lalani, State Vice-Chairman, Minority Department toldsaid, "Today with a lot of pain, I am saying this, that after independence, this is the biggest agitation of farmers. BJP is calling farmers anti-national. Are farmers anti-national or Godse's family is anti-national?"
He further said, "Today Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is holding a protest in Hyderabad when Congress is also holding a protest. Why does TRS have to protest on the same day?"
Senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao told ANI, "Injustice is being done to farmers of the state. Both state and central governments are doing injustice to farmers of Telangana. The three farm bills brought by central government benefits Adani and Ambani."
"Since past one year, farmers have been fighting in Delhi against the farm bills. We will go to the IKP centre and protest till the government purchases the whole paddy and we will keep working for the welfare of farmers," said Rao.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao along with Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders including its MPs, MLAs, ministers and ZPTC leaders staged a protest against the Central government over the issue of paddy procurement in Hyderabad on Thursday.
The protest in Indira Park began at 11 am.
TRS's Telangana government and BJP's Central government are at loggerheads on the issue of paddy procurement for some days now.
Earlier, KCR stated that it is the responsibility of the central government to procure the crop cultivated by the farmers.
The chief minister alleged that the Centre is buying the whole paddy in Punjab but refusing to buy grain in Telangana. He said that the central government is not allowing FCI to buy grain in Yasangi.
( With inputs from ANI )
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