The ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana on Wednesday launched state-wide agitations in protest against the statement made by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy during an interaction with NRIs from the state in United States. He allegedly opposed the round-the-clock power supply to farmers in the state free of cost.
Leading a demonstration at Vidyut Soudha in Hyderabad on Wednesday, BRS lawmaker and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha said the anti-farmer intent of the Congress Party now stood clearly exposed.
She sought to know whether former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who had released “Farmers’ Declaration” during his rally at Warangal in May this year, also agreed with the TPCC stand on reducing the hours of free electricity supply to the farmers. “If he has no answer, he has no right to come to Telangana and speak to the farmers here,” she said.
Kavitha called upon the people to hound away Revanth if he visited any village stating three hours of power supply was enough. Revanth Reddy should immediately apologize to the farmers, she demanded.
BRS working president and state industries minister K T Rama Rao the Congress party’s policy was an insult to small and marginal farmers. “A three-hour power supply for small and marginal farmers would mean they are forced to use high-capacity motors to draw sufficient water supply to their fields,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}BRS working president and state industries minister K T Rama Rao the Congress party’s policy was an insult to small and marginal farmers. “A three-hour power supply for small and marginal farmers would mean they are forced to use high-capacity motors to draw sufficient water supply to their fields,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress party, which had failed to extend even seven hours of power supply to farmers, was now hatching conspiracies to abolish the 24-hour free power supply programme, he said, in a statement.
Revanth’s statement also caused embarrassment in the Telangana Congress. Senior leader and Bhongir MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said round-the-clock free power supply to farmers was the policy of the Congress. “I don’t know in what context the PCC chief made the statement on three-hour power supply to farmers, but it is not our policy,” he said.
He challenged the BRS government to prove that the farmers of Telangana were getting 24X7 power supply. “Even if it is proved that the farmers are getting 10 hours of power supply, I shall resign from my MP seat,” he challenged.
Revanth, in an interaction with the NRIs from Telangana at a meeting organised on the sidelines of Telugu Association of North America conference at Philadelphia in the US on Monday, said the farmers of Telangana didn’t need 24X7 power supply to their crops.
Replying to a query from an NRI on whether the Congress, if voted to power, would continue the 24X7 free agriculture power supply scheme, the PCC chief said 95 percent of the Telangana farmers are small and marginal farmers with not more than three acres of land.
“It requires one hour of water supply to each acre of land. So, the majority of farmers do not require more than three hours of free power supply to water their crops. On the whole, it is enough to give seven to eight hours of power supply to crops,” he said.
Revanth alleged that the round-the-clock free power supply talk of KCR was a big hoax only to cheat people and help big farmers. “In the name of free power supply, it is not appropriate to misuse the power and push the discoms into losses,” he said.
Soon as the video of Revanth’s statement went viral on social media on Tuesday, the BRS reacted strongly. It gave a call for state-wide protests on Wednesday alleging that the Congress was anti-farmer and if voted to power, it would do away with the free power supply.
The PCC chief had also quickly retracted his statement and tweeted that the Congress party would definitely extend quality power supply to farmers round the clock. “Even if the BRS leaders shout from the rooftops that the Congress would give only three hours of power to agriculture, people will not vote for them,” he said.
He alleged that the BRS leaders were only trying to mislead the people by twisting his statement made in the US.
All India Congress Committee in-charge of Telangana Manikrao Thakre also assured that his party, if voted to power, would give round-the-clock power supply to agriculture free of cost. “It has been clearly mentioned in our farmers’ declaration and we shall implement it in letter and spirit,” Thakre said.