Paddy Purchase: KCR Slams Centre's "Discrimination" Against State

TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today lashed out at the Centre for "discriminating against Telangana" in procuring paddy.

"Similar to what it is doing with Punjab, the Centre should procure Yasangi paddy and grains from Telangana, too," he demanded, and warned of protests at the national level if the Centre did not acquiesce.

The Chief Minister was speaking at a meeting of the TRS Legislature Party at Telangana Bhavan at 11:30 am with the party's district presidents, the chiefs of the Zilla Parishads, DCCBs and DCMSs, and others.

KCR said that a team of Telangana ministers would soon go to Delhi and meet the Union Agriculture Minister to mount pressure on the issue. He also asked the party leaders to make unanimous resolutions demanding that the Centre procure Yasangi paddy from the state, and send the resolutions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Telangana CM also demanded that the Centre bring out a national procurement policy through Parliament to make amendments to the Constitution and protect the States' rights in agriculture. It would help achieve food security and supply of food grains to all states, he said.

The Chief Minister instructed all the legislators, party Executive Committee members, District Presidents, ZP Chairpersons, Presidents of DCCBs and DCMSs, and District Presidents of Rythu Bandhu Samithis to join the fight for paddy procurement. He said that a plan to hold dharnas, agitations and protests demanding that the union government buy Yasangi paddy from the state would soon be formulated and implemented.