Hyderabad: Transport and BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Congress senior MLA T Ram Mohan Reddy on Monday accused the BJP-led Central govt of deceiving farmers while burdening them and the public by increasing petrol and diesel prices.“The BJP’s ‘Rythu Gosa – BJP Bharosa’ yatra is a political drama aimed at diverting attention from the real issues affecting farmers. The Centre should first reduce petrol and diesel prices if it is genuinely concerned about the welfare of farmers in Telangana. The BJP govt is responsible for increasing fuel prices, which have sharply raised cultivation costs, affecting expenses related to tractors, irrigation motors and transportation, thereby placing farmers under severe financial strain,” Ponnam said.He alleged that the Centre had failed to fully procure the grain produced by Telangana farmers and was not extending adequate cooperation in the procurement process.Permissions for processing boiled rice and levy rice were being delayed despite repeated requests from the Telangana govt.“The Centre had approved procurement of only 53.7 lakh metric tonnes of grain, whereas the Telangana govt had set a target of procuring 75 lakh metric tonnes to ensure that farmers did not suffer losses,” he said.The state govt had established 8,575 paddy procurement centres and was rapidly procuring grain on a war footing. The state had made available 21 crore gunny bags at the field level and had so far procured 51 lakh metric tonnes of grain. Also, ₹8,749 crore towards the Minimum Support Price (MSP) had already been credited directly into farmers’ bank accounts.He slammed the BJP for its failure to fulfil its promises of doubling farmers’ incomes and providing pensions to farmers above 60 years of age. He also criticised the PM Narendra Modi govt for allegedly favouring corporates through massive loan waivers while refusing relief to farmers.T Ram Mohan Reddy said the BJP had no moral right to speak about farmers, as it was the Modi govt that had introduced the three laws. Farmers across the country had suffered greatly during the BJP govt’s tenure. He further criticised the Centre for increasing the MSP for maize by only ₹10 per quintal, calling it an insult to maize farmers.The Congress minister and the MLA urged farmers to question BJP leaders and demand that the Centre procure every grain produced in Telangana. They reiterated that the Telangana govt would continue to stand firmly with farmers and demanded an immediate reduction in fuel prices along with full procurement support from the Centre.
