Following
the TRS government's appeal to the people of Telangana yesterday to support the ongoing farmers' protests, Telangana IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao today reiterated the government's support for the protestors, and said that it would observe the December 8 Bharat Bandh on a state-wide scale.
Speaking after launching the much-awaited IT hub in Khammam, Rao called the three controversial farm Acts "black laws", and slammed the BJP-led union government for introducing the new laws despite the fact that they would "destroy" the agrarian community economically.
He also accused the union government of privileging corporate interests over the interests of the common people, and claimed that it was using the legislations to sell agricultural produce to corporate companies in a way that would profit only the buyers and not the farmers.
"The Centre has come up with draconian laws that will ruin the farmers, and cause them to incur great losses as they will be unable to avail themselves of the facilities of open markets and the MSP system," he added.
The minister then called upon the TRS leaders and cadre, the farmers associations affiliated to the party, and the people of the state to participate in the nation-wide bandh tomorrow.
"The farmers are on a warpath to prevent the Centre from implementing its black farm laws which dismantle the mandi and the MSP systems. The TRS government and all the political parties must join the protest against the Centre, and support the farmers in their hour of need. We must create pressure on the union government to roll back the laws. Keeping this in mind, the state government has called upon the people, traders and business establishments to observe the bandh on December 8," he said.
Rao also urged the RTC staff to participate in the protest, and asked the body to run buses only from the afternoon on Tuesday.
Ministers Puvvada Ajay Kumar, Mahmood Ali and Prashant Reddy, MP Nama Nageshwar Rao and others were also present at the launch.