Congress Asks Governor To Withdraw Cases On Farmers

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday led a delegation of his party's leaders to Governor E S L Narasimhan urging him to order the release of all Khammam farmers arrested on "fictitious charges" and withdrawal of all criminal proceedings initiated against them.

The delegation comprised of senior leaders including Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Shabbir Ali, J Geetha Reddy, Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, K R Suresh Reddy, Gudur Narayana Reddy, K Nagaiah and Nerella Sharada.

In the memorandum submitted to the Governor at Raj Bhavan on Friday evening, Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was acting against the poor farmers of Telangana.

"The handcuffing of poor, small and marginal chilli farmers in Khammam yesterday while being produced in court has shocked the entire Telangana public. This is a culmination of the ignoring of the agricultural and farming community by the TRS government, and the repressive and dictatorial tactics used by the present government against any form of protest," he said in the memorandum.

Reddy alleged that the state government had wilfully neglected offering remunerative prices for agricultural crops over the last three years. Chilli, turmeric, tur dal, soya, paddy etc. were all having to be sold by the farmers at well below their cost of production.

"When KCR repeatedly boasts of Telangana being a rich state and of the present budget outlay being Rs. 1.49 lakh crores, why is it that the government is not able to allocate Rs. 1,000 crores and buy agricultural products at prices that make agriculture a viable proposition? Why is it that KCR spends hundreds of crores on his official residence, cars, buses and foreign travel in charter jets, but is unable to come to the rescue of small and marginal farmers in Telangana?" he asked.

Stating that almost 70% of the Telangana population was dependent on agriculture and allied activity, Reddy alleged that the TRS government did not make any effort to help out the farmers. When such a serious agrarian crisis was prevalent in the state, why was it that the Telangana CM had not found time to visit the agricultural market yards and interact with the farmers who were unable to sell their products at remunerative prices? Why was it that the CM of Telangana had not found time to visit and console even one of the 3,000 odd farmers' families who had lost their bread winners to suicides? Had the Telangana CM and his ministers become so insensitive that they were accusing genuine farmers in distress of being rowdies and anti-nationals, he asked.

Reddy demanded that the Governor ensure the release of all farmers, and the withdrawal of all criminal proceedings initiated against them. He also demanded that all transport restrictions on farmers be lifted, and all check posts and police personnel from inside agricultural markets be removed. He also sought that the government issue an apology to the farmers who had been harassed, abused, vilified and left stranded in the agricultural markets.