Telangana Chief Minister and TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao on Monday brought his fight against the Narendra Modi-led BJP to the national capital by sitting on a dharna here along with his MPs and MLAs on paddy procurement issue and setting a 24-hour deadline to the Centre to settle the issue.
In its first protest in Delhi after coming to power in Telangana in 2014, the party MPs, MLCs, MLAs, and entire cabinet ministers sat on the dharna. Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait joined Rao in the dharna and expressed solidarity with the cause.
TRS' protest comes against the backdrop of efforts by Rao to forge an Opposition alliance without the Congress holding the pole, with a year to go for Assembly elections in Telangana. With the BJP perceived to be gaining in Telangana at the cost of Congress, TRS has raised the pitch against the party.
Rao has reached out to Chief Ministers Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), MK Stalin (Tamil Nadu) and Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) besides holding deliberations with leaders like Sharad Pawar (NCP).
At the Telangana Bhavan here where the leaders sat on a dharna, Rao warned the Modi government that it will take the protest across the country if the central government fails to respond to their demand to buy parboiled rice from the state.
"Don't play with the sentiments of our farmers, they have power to topple the government. Farmers are not beggars, they have the right to seek minimum support price (MSP) for their produce," he said.
"With folded hands, I urge Modi-ji and (Commerce Minister Piyush) Goyal-ji to respond to the state's demand on paddy procurement within 24 hours. After that, we will take a call," Rao said. According to the Centre, it can procure only raw rice and not the parboiled ones which are not consumed largely in India.
Rao alleged that Goyal behaved harshly with the Telangana Agriculture Minister when he met him to discuss the issue. "Is growing paddy Telangana farmers' fault?. I warn the Prime Minister that you cannot mess with farmers. Indian history is a testament that wherever farmers cried, the government lost power. Nobody is permanent. When in power, don't insult farmers," he said.
He also demanded that the Union government come up with a new agriculture policy. "We demand our rights. I urge the Prime Minister to come up with a new agriculture policy. We will contribute to it. If not, then the public is going to throw you out and frame a new policy," he said.
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