Revanth Reddy Will Scrap Rythu Bandhu: Harish Rao

BRS leader and Siddipet MLA Harish Rao today criticised the Congress government, calling it "shameful" for conspiring to permanently discontinue the Rythu Bandhu scheme.

He expressed regret over the State agriculture minister's claims that farmers preferred a Rs 500 per quintal bonus for paddy over the benefits of Rythu Bandhu.

Rao said that the United Nations had previously recognized Rythu Bandhu as a globally unique initiative offering direct investment support to farmers. He lamented that such a praised scheme was being scrapped in a deliberate manner.

He also criticised the Congress government's claims, noting that it had announced the purchase of 5,19,605 quintals of fine-quality paddy at a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal, while the State's overall paddy yield stood at 1.53 crore metric tonnes.

"The total bonus given to farmers amounted to just Rs 26 crore. In contrast, under Rythu Bandhu, Rs 7,500 crore is deposited annually into farmers' accounts. If Rs 15,000 per acre is provided, as stated in the Congress manifesto, the cost would be even higher. Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao and CM Revanth Reddy should explain how the bonus benefits farmers more than Rythu Bandhu," he said.

He alleged that after coming to power Revanth Reddy had waived off loans for just half the farmers and left the others high and dry. After that, he said that the bonus would be offered for all the crops but eventually restricted it only to the preparations.

Rao recalled former CM K Chandrashekar Rao's warning that the Rythu Bandhu scheme would be at risk if Congress came to power, and said that the Revanth Reddy-led government was proving that right. "Aren't landed farmers, tenant farmers and agricultural labourers now left cheated after relying on this support? Revanth Reddy had no intention of sticking to his promises when he was creating his manifesto. The BRS strongly condemns this conspiracy to stop the Rythu Bandhu scheme, which KCR introduced to transform farmers' lives," he said.