Telangana leaders to stage dharna in Delhi on April 11 against Centre’s discriminatory paddy procurement policy

Telangana government will stage a dharna in Delhi on April 11 to mark a protest against the Centre’s paddy procurement policy. The TRS party informed Telangana Government that elected representatives, TRS party MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and elected representatives of urban and rural local bodies would join the protest against the Union Government.

The Telangana Government will sit on a day-long dharna on April 11 in the national capital to stage a protest against the Central government’s discriminatory paddy procurement policy, which is impacting nearly 61 lakh farmers and their families. The venue for the protest will be Telangana Bhavan in Delhi. TRS MLC K Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, said in Delhi that if the Centre did not pay attention to the demands and situation of the farmers of Telangana, they would be forced to agitate on the streets of the national capital.

“The Central government is not procuring paddy from the farmers of Telangana. The BJP Government at the Centre has now refused to purchase, flouting the promise. In protest, nearly 61 lakh farmers of the State have taken to the streets”, said K Kavitha. Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal, on March 24 had, assured farmers of Telangana that there is absolutely no discrimination among the farmers from different states. He further added that certain politicians in Telangana are misleading the farmers. 

This statement comes from Piyush Goyal in light of the latest meeting with the delegation of Telangana officials and Ministers who had come to Delhi to press the demand that the Food Corporation of India(FCI) should procure the entire quantity of paddy produced in the State.

Piyush Goyal, while speaking to the media outside the Parliament premises, said, “The Central government led by PM Narendra Modi is committed to the welfare of farmers and has consistently ensured that all the farmers of the country get the benefit of various policies that we are introducing from time to time. The government procures rice from all over India without any discrimination whatsoever.”

“In the last few years, the MSP procurement from Telangana of rice has increased significantly, and the total Minimum Support Price value paid to farmers has increased from 3,391 crores in 2014-15 to 26,610 crore in current marketing season 2021. Within 6 years, it has gone up by nearly seven times. The same policy which applies to Punjab also applies to Telangana and all the other states,” Goyal said.

He added, “The farmers of Telangana can rest assured that there is absolutely no discrimination among the farmers from different states. Some politicians in Telangana are misleading the farmers. I request the Telangana Government to stop this." Telangana Government has been relentlessly demanding the Centre to procure the entire paddy produced in the State for a long period of time. In 2021, a delegation of Ministers from the State, had even met with the union Ministers to make a clear announcement regarding the paddy procurement, including the quantity. However, as of now has been no amicable solution obtained to the problem of paddy procurement yet.