Telangana Chief Minister (CM) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supremo, K Chandrashekhar Rao, said on Wednesday, 12 January, that he strongly opposes the central government’s decision to increase the prices of fertilisers and warned the Centre of statewide and nationwide protests if the prices are not lowered, as per a statement by Telangana Chief Minister’s Office.
The CM said that the increased prices will break the back of the farming community and put the agriculture sector into a crisis.
Rao added that other draconian decisions imposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre, such as installing meters to motors to collect power charges, not linking MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) with the farm sector and not purchasing the paddy directly from farmers, are putting pressure on farmers.
The Telangana CMO said in a statement that the CM will write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to protest against the increase in fertiliser prices.
It is highly reprehensible that the central government, which promised to double the income of farmers, took a U-turn and increased the agricultural expenses.Statement by the Telangana Chief Minister's Office
“One should oppose the actions that would make farmers becoming a labourer in his own land,” said the statement.
KCR reminded the Centre that farmers were forced to revolt when the government had removed subsidies on fertilisers which were prevalent for several decades.
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