KCR asks people to revolt against Centre, writes to Modi demanding rollback of fertiliser prices

Hyderabad Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday demanded that the Centre immediately roll back the increase in fertiliser prices which, he said, has pushed the agriculture sector into deep crisis and broken the backbone of farming in the country

Hyderabad

(HT Archives)

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday demanded that the Centre immediately roll back the increase in fertiliser prices which, he said, has pushed the agriculture sector into deep crisis and broken the backbone of farming in the country.

The chief minister wrote a strongly-worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, registering his protest against the increase of fertilisers’ prices.

In a statement earlier, he called upon the people to “root out the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government at the Centre,” which is weakening the rural economy by playing havoc with the farm sector and handing it over to the corporates.

KCR, as the chief minister is popularly called, asked the people to confront the BJP on the farmers’ crisis at every opportunity. “If the Centre fails to withdraw the increased prices of fertilisers, there will be statewide and countrywide agitations against the Central government,” he warned.

He also urged the farming community in the state to expose the BJP’s conspiracy and join the struggle to make the Centre withdraw the fertiliser price hike.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, the chief minister said it was sad that the prices of two most consumed fertilisers – NPK 28.28.0 and Muriate of Potash (MoP) had increased by more than 50% and 100% respectively in the last three months.

“Instead of bearing the increasing import costs of raw materials and maintaining the prices of fertilizers at an affordable level to the farmers, the Central government has chosen to pass on the burden to the farmers,” he alleged.

He pointed out that in February 2016, the NDA government had made a tall promise that it would increase the income of the farmers two-fold by 2022. “Instead of fulfilling the promise, it has now increased the prices of fertilisers at an all-time high,” he said.

He said the steep hike in fuel prices due to indiscriminate imposition of cess across the board had caused great distress to farmers, who had taken up farm mechanisation. Now, the increase in fertiliser prices had put enormous burden on the farmers, he said.

KCR also pointed out to the Prime Minister that the farmers were denied minimum support prices (MSP) for many farm produces, as a result of which the farmers are compelled to sell their produce at lower prices there by making agriculture non-remunerative.

Stating that the BJP government is totally against the farmers, the chief minister said there was deep conspiracy behind the central government policies and actions to make the lives of farmers miserable.

“Decisions like to install meters to motors to collect the power charges, not linking MGNREGP with the farm sector, increasing the fertilisers prices to all time high, not purchasing the paddy cultivated by the farmers etc., have made farmers’ life miserable,” he said, adding that the farmers have no option but to take up their ploughs and revolt against the Central government.