BRS demands white paper on paddy procurement

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Friday demanded that the state govt release a white paper with detailed statistics on paddy procurement. Denying chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s claim that 80% of the paddy procurement had been completed, KTR said if the CM proved his claim, he was ready to face any punishment. He added that field reports indicated only 30% of procurement had been completed across the state.Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Friday, KTR criticised the CM and ministers for allegedly spreading falsehoods about paddy and other crop procurement in the state. The BRS leader said he wrote an open letter to the CM on paddy procurement after visiting several districts and witnessing the dire conditions faced by farmers at procurement centres. Instead of taking corrective measures, the CM and other ministers were making false statements and resorting to diversion tactics, he alleged. KTR demanded that the govt discuss paddy procurement at the cabinet meeting scheduled for Saturday.He accused the govt of denying farmer suicides and deaths despite providing information to the civil supplies minister. He offers to provide details of farmers who allegedly died due to delays in crop procurement. “Farmers across the state are protesting and staging demonstrations. There are no basic facilities at procurement centres, where crops are either not weighed properly or subjected to unfair deductions,” the BRS working president said.KTR said protests over procurement were taking place in the CM’s own constituency of Kodangal. He accused the govt of neglecting every aspect of the procurement process, from gunny bags to jute threads, and also referred to the recent incidents of attacks and lawlessness. He urged both the state govt and opposition parties to recognise the crop procurement crisis and wake up from their slumber.He advised the govt against ignoring ground-level issues. The BRS leader warned that if the govt failed to address crop procurement issues and take necessary actions, the BRS would exert pressure on the govt at the grassroots level and hold the Congress govt accountable.