Telangana Cabinet: On April 11, the Telangana Cabinet will sit on a day-long dharna in Delhi to protest the Union government’s allegedly discriminatory paddy procurement policy, which the state’s ruling party, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), claims affects 61 lakh farmers.
The Centre has refused to buy paddy from Telangana this Rabi season, stating that it will only buy raw rice, not parboiled rice, which is what the majority of the state produces during this season. Since April 4, the TRS has been holding protests across the state over the issue.
K. Kavitha, a senior party leader and member of the Legislative Council, told The Hindu that the Centre should explain why Telangana farmers are being singled out. Her father, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, is accompanying her to Delhi. “Since we started better harnessing river water, we’ve had record-breaking production.” Now the question is, how does the central government intend to assist Telangana’s farmers? They get both crops [Rabi and Kharif] from Punjab farmers, but Telangana does not have the same policy.” She claimed that her government’s policies had resulted in a 60-year shift in agricultural production patterns.
The TRS has two main demands: a uniform procurement policy that applies to the entire country without discrimination, and the Centre should declare the quantities it will procure from each state at the start of the year.
Consultations between Piyush Goyal and Telangana MP
The state government and TRS MPs have met with Union Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal several times in recent months to try to resolve the issue, but the Centre has remained firm in its stance. They had boycotted a portion of the winter session in protest.
“The Centre has been completely unresponsive. This isn’t a one-time occurrence. They should plan ahead and tell us which season they want to buy grain and how much grain they will get from each state. These are not decisions that can be made on the spur of the moment. Ms. Kavitha stated, “This is a decision that will affect millions of farmers across the country.”
The Centre was responsible for obtaining the produce at a minimum support price (MSP). Only then will the markets react positively. “The entire purpose of the MSP will be defeated if the government does not procure,” she stated.
Politics should not be allowed to dictate policies. “Fundamentally, this government came to power promising to correct years of wrongdoing. This country’s food security must be addressed. What steps have they taken to achieve this goal? Maybe what they’re doing to us has political motivations, but who’s getting hurt in the end?” she added.