Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy calls Central government blind & anti-farmer

Hyderabad: In its bid to step up its ante against the Centre over the paddy procurement, State Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy on Saturday asked farmers in Telangana to come forward to fight against the anti-farmers government at the centre.

Addressing members of Rythu Bandhu Samitis and farmer leaders through teleconference on Saturday, he asked them to come forward to pave way for the formation of a pro-farmer government in the country.

He stressed that there is a need to wake up the farmers in the country under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. The Agriculture Minister said that Telangana being an agrarian State has risen to the top in the agriculture sector. But, unfortunately, the country is being run by a blind and anti-farmers government at the Centre. He said the Centre has been refusing to procure paddy and the State government had created awareness among farmers on the issue. Following the request of the State government farmers in the State have stopped cultivating paddy. Niranjan Reddy said 12,600 village panchayats in the State have sent letters to the Centre demanding to procure paddy. However, the adamant government at the Centre has been refusing to procure paddy, he added.