KTR to take up ‘padayatra’ across Telangana as party ranks push for it

Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) working president and Sircilla MLA K.T. Rama Rao. File
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

HYDERABAD

Working president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) K.T. Rama Rao has announced that he will take up a ‘padayatra’ (walkathon), as a mass-contact programme, in the days to come as per the wishes of the party ranks.

He stated this while interacting with netizens on social media on Thursday (October 31, 2024), who asked him about his view on padayatras which are held by leaders of political parties across the country to highlight governments’ failures and strengthen their organisation (party).

Mr. Rao claimed the Congress Government- which claimed power in the name of six guarantees – had become a curse to Telangana. The Congress rule was centered around Delhi as the Chief Ministers and most of his Cabinet colleagues spent more time visiting Delhi to meet the party leadership.

Cautions police officers

He cautioned the police officers harassing BRS leaders and registering false cases and said they would face the music once the party was back in power. Mr. Rao said it was the responsibility of BRS to fight for the people’s cause till they repose faith in it.

Slow procurement of paddy

Meanwhile, Mr. Rama Rao criticised the State Government for procuring paddy – produced in the Kharif season – at snail’s pace: against the target of purchasing 8.16 lakh tonnes of the major crop in October, only 7,629 tonnes was procured from 913 farmers till October 28.

Besides the slow procurement of the grain was not enough, the farming community was put to further loss as the spell of ongoing untimely rain was soaked paddy stocks both in the harvesting sites and market yards. He stated that the government had announced to procure 91.28 lakh tonnes of paddy this season out of the estimated production of over 1.46 crore tonnes of the grain. Accusing the government functionaries of colluding with the traders and middlemen, he said opening the planned procurement centres was being delayed to help the traders purchase the grain at less than minimum support price from farmers.

The BRS leader further pointed out that the delay in allotment of paddy stocks to millers was also affecting the procurement as there was confusion as to which mill the purchase centres were required to shift the purchased grain.