Nizamabad: In a swift move that has taken the Opposition parties by surprise, TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao promised a supply of free power to the farming sector all over the country, after a non-BJP government was voted to power in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He declared that the next Lok Sabha elections would be fought with the slogan of BJP Mukth Bharat.
At a massive public meeting here on Monday, Chandrashekhar Rao declared that a non-BJP flag would be hoisted in New Delhi in 2024 after “driving out the anti-farmer, anti-poor, and anti-labor Central government”. He was confident that there would be a secular and democratically elected government in New Delhi.
As the massive crowd cheered in appreciation of the announcement of free power to farmers all over India along the lines of Telangana, Chandrashekhar Rao sought to know from people “Should I enter the national politics with your blessings?”. The crowd roared in positive reply, the TRS president declared that he was starting the journey into national politics from Nizamabad.
Chandrashekhar Rao, who was in an expansive mood, elaborated how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had benefited his cronies by waiving lakhs of crores. Modi waived Rs 12 lakh crore non-performing assets of his friends. He sought to compare these waivers to the expenses the government would incur if free power was provided to farming communities all over the country. “Farmers across the country were using only 20.8 percent of the power generated and it would cost around 1.45 lakh crore”, he said.
He reminded people that the series of initiatives taken up by the State government after the formation of Telangana smile returned on farmer’s faces, who are now financially settling down after getting seeds, fertilizers, etc.
Referring to the installation of meters to agriculture pump sets, the Chief Minister said the Prime Minister was now forcing farmers to install meters. “The time has come to fix meters to those who ask our farmers to install meters to pumpets,” he said.
After selling airports, airlines, ports, railways, public sector undertakings (PSUs), and banks, the Central government has now focused on farmers to push them into trouble by increasing the rates of urea and diesel without giving any minimum support price to their crops apart from staying away from procuring paddy.
He said a dangerous conspiracy was hatched to weaken farmers enabling the corporate businessmen associated with the Prime Minister and his friends to come with suitcases to buy farmer’s lands. Modi’s friends would ask farmers to work as laborers after buying their lands, he said.
As part of this conspiracy, the Central government was insisting that the farmers install electric meters to the agriculture pump sets apart from increasing the prices of urea and fertilizers. All these were aimed at pushing farmers into losses and putting them in a hapless situation, in a bid to force them to give up agriculture, he said.
“When I earlier attended a meeting at Khaleel wadi grounds under the leadership of Telangana protagonist Surender Reddy, I promised that I would fight to achieve the dream of carving out a separate Telangana and finally I fulfilled it,” he recalled.
After the formation of Telangana, the State government introduced various welfare schemes including pensions, Shaadi-Mubarak, and Kalyana Lakshmi schemes, set up residential educational institutes, and came to the rescue of the poor. But the Central government was now saying that these schemes were useless. “Should we lose these schemes?” the Chief Minister asked.
In spite of having Krishna, Godavari, Ganga, Cauvery, Narmada and other important rivers, the Central government failed to construct a major reservoir or a project and a factory in the country.
On the contrary, the Centre was selling existing PUSs and asking farmers to install meters to their pump sets and snatch their lands. The farmer’s associations should convene meetings and expose the anti-farmer policies adopted by the Central government.
Unemployment increased, rupee value dipped and no sector witnessed development under the NDA government’s rule till now. The Centre has also ignored the welfare of Dalits, tribals and women in the country. Accusing the NDA government of dividing Opposition parties and dethroning governments in several States by purchasing MLAs, he said the Centre was attempting to dethrone the TRS government, which was working for the welfare of farmers, weavers, toddy tappers and the poor people in the State.
Farmers from 28 States, who attended a meeting in Hyderabad recently, appreciated the TRS government for developing the State on all fronts. Priority has been accorded to the agricultural sector and traditional occupations in the State. The farmers’ representatives said the country should also be developed like Telangana. The Chief Minister asked whether the people in Nizamabad want canals flowing with water from the Godavari River or with blood that oozes due to religious madness. He called upon the people to drive out the corrupt NDA government from the country and ensure a BJP mukth government.
