Harish Slams Government for "Failure" to Waive Farmers' Loans

BRS MLA Harish Rao today criticized the State government for its "failure" to waive crop loans for farmers.

"The Chief Minister claims that the loan waiver is completed, but his ministers are saying otherwise," Rao said.

He alleged that not only farmers but also deities had been misled by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy under the pretext of the loan waiver.

After visiting the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, Harish Rao spoke to the media, and said that he had prayed to the Lord for strength to continue fighting until all farmers received their loan waiver benefits and crop bonuses.

Rao claimed that there were several discrepancies in the government's statements about the crop loan waiver. He pointed out that minister Uttam Kumar Reddy had said that 1.7 million more people needed loan waivers, and minister Ponguleti had also said that the waiver process was not yet complete. Agriculture minister Thummala had also said that Rs 31,000 crore was needed to cover 4.2 million farmers who had crop loans, and yet only Rs 17,000 crore had been waived off for 2.2 million farmers so far, Rao said.

"According to Thummala's figures, only 45% of farmers have received the waiver benefit, leaving 55% still awaiting assistance. This contradicts the Chief Minister's assertion that the waiver process was completed," he said.

Rao claimed that an additional Rs 12,000 crore needed to be allocated for the loan waiver scheme to complete it. He asked who should resign based on these numbers, and demanded that the Chief Minister publicly apologize to the people of Telangana if he valued ethics and integrity. He also suggested that Reddy offer penance to the deities he had sworn on when making the loan waiver promises.

Rao also criticized the Chief Minister for alleged mistreatment of women journalists in his hometown. He said that legal cases and threats would not deter the farmers' anger, and that the farmers had the right to express their grievances. He said that the BRS would persist in demanding the loan waiver benefit for all affected farmers, and asked the police to uphold the law and refrain from harming the protesters.

MLC Desapathi Srinivas, MLAs K P Vivekananda, Madhavaram Krishnarao and Kaleru Venkatesh, and former MLAs Gongadi Sunitha and Budida Biksham accompanied Rao to the temple.