Minister for Excise Jupally Krishna Rao has challenged former Minister and BRS MLA T. Harish Rao for an open debate over critical issues such as farmers’ problems, pending irrigation projects and ‘corruption’ during the BRS rule.
Addressing the media at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday, Mr. Jupally condemned Mr. Rao’s statement threatening to besiege the Secretariat if crop loss compensation was not provided to farmers. He said that a total of 6,651 farmers committed suicide in the State in the last 10 years under BRS regime but Mr. Rao remained silent. Crops got damaged every year due to unseasonal rains but none from the BRS reached out to farmers, he said.
“In fact, the State’s exchequer got completely over in the last one decade during the BRS rule,” he said, accusing Mr. Rao of resorting to misleading statements for political gains ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He also questioned whether crop loss compensation, input subsidies, and crop insurance had ever been implemented during the BRS regime.
Announcing the Congress government’s commitment to supporting farmers affected by untimely rains, he said, “After the final report, affected farmers will receive compensation of ₹10,000 per acre.”
He also said that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had already asked his Ministers and officials to visit fields and submit a report. He said that KCR never visited a farmer in his 10 years of rule despite being the Chief Minister and never announced any compensation. Only in the last year of his rule, he was forced to visit a village and announce ₹10,000 per acre compensation. However, only a few farmers received the compensation so far.
Kisan Congress’ point
Telangana Kisan Congress chairman Anvesh Reddy also criticised Mr. Rao during a media conference on Tuesday, accusing him of spreading false news about crop damage. Mr. Reddy said that Mr. Rao’s statements were misleading, particularly regarding the extent of crop damage, which the BRS leader claimed to be 20 lakh acres.
He alleged that the BRS government had not even enumerated the crop loss for four years from 2016 to 2020, and provided only ₹151.65 crore against the actual crops valued at ₹450 crore in 2023.
