Speaking at Telangana Bhavan on Thursday, Niranjan Reddy, who heads the BRS Study Committee on farmers’ Issues, ridiculed Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s claims of providing Rythu Bharosa to farmers and Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa to farm labourers
Published Date – 30 January 2025, 03:35 PM
Former Minister S Niranjan Reddy
Hyderabad: Former Minister S Niranjan Reddy said the Congress government, despite being in power for 420 days, was yet to deliver its six guarantees and 420 promises. He castigated the government for ignoring the plight of farmers, who are struggling due to lack of adequate support especially lack of support price for crops.
He said due to the government’s apathy, farmers are forced to either stage protests or commit suicides.
Speaking at Telangana Bhavan on Thursday, Niranjan Reddy, who heads the BRS Study Committee on farmers’ Issues, ridiculed Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy‘s claims of providing Rythu Bharosa to farmers and Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa to farm labourers.
He stated that after much hype, the Congress government deposited Rythu Bandhu amount into the bank accounts of around 4.42 lakh against 70 lakh farmers in nearly 12,991 gram panchayats. “This is less than six per cent of total farmers in the State,” he said.
He stated that while Telangana had over 40 lakh landless farm labourers, the Congress government claimed that there are only 10 lakh farm labourers eligible under the Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa scheme. “However, only 20,000 which is only two percent of these 10 lakh farm labourers received benefit on January 26,” he added.
On remarks made by Speaker Gaddam Prasad and other Congress leaders that the Congress gave promises without being aware of the alleged poor finances of the State, Niranjan Reddy stated that the Congress leaders could not be so reckless especially after assuming power.
“Making such claims only proves their inefficiency to rule the State. Till date, there is no clarity on the eligibility criteria for the Rythu Bharosa and Indiramma Atmeeya Bharosa schemes,” he pointed out.
Addressing the issue of farmer suicides, the former Minister stated that the absence of loan waivers and financial assistance has put farmers in distress. The BRS Study Committee has been conducting a Statewide tour to assess conditions and has provided financial aid to families of affected farmers.
However, he noted that the police have refused permission to the BRS committee in Warangal, raising concerns about restrictions on public representatives.
Niranjan Reddy also remarked that while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi carried the Constitution in hand, the party’s actions in Telangana did not align with constitutional values. He stated that the Congress government cannot restrict them forever from meeting the people of Telangana.
The Study Committee members including former Ministers Puvvada Ajay, Jogu Ramanna, former MP B Vinod Kumar and others were also present.
