TDP leaders stage massive dharna

Say KCR will face the fate of YSR

Warangal: A massive demonstration was staged at the Collectorate here on Saturday by TDP leaders and cadre demanding uninterrupted power supply and Rs 5,000 minimum support price for cotton. The party senior leaders L Ramana, E Dayakar Rao, A Revanth Reddy, G Mohan Rao, Gundu Sudharani and legislators from Telangana took part in the agitation held as part of the TDP’s ongoing ‘bus yatra’ on farmers’ issues.

Addressing the gathering, the leaders came down heavily on ruling TRS and the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for allegedly neglecting the welfare of the farming community in the state. Owing to the state government’s laxity, about 235 farmers have committed suicide, the TDP leaders said. TRS party which promised the moon during elections has done nothing for the farmers and poor in the state.

For the party leaders, it has become a habit to blame TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu for every problem that Telangana state is facing, they said.

Referring to the power crisis in Telangana, the TDP leaders said that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was trying to supply all the surplus power in that state to Telangana and also buying additional power from neighouring states.

But Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao did not attempt to purchase power to save the farmers. “The Chief Minister has neither asked the central government nor approached the neighbouring states seeking to purchase power to support farmers in Telangana, but making lame excuses,” they stated.

Dayakar Rao challenged the TRS government to handover the power ministry to him and said he would set things straight in just one week’s time. “In order to cover up TRS government’s inefficiency, the Ministers were blaming the TDP president,” he added.

Earlier on the day, the TDP delegation has visited Enumamula agricultural market in Warangal and interacted with the farmers. They asked farmers how much price they were getting for cotton, maize and paddy and about supply of power for farming operations.

The TDP leaders claimed that during the rule of their party, the government released Rs 200 crore to MARKFED to procure produce from farmers. “The government also intervened and stopped exploitation of farmers by traders and middlemen,” they said.

But the TRS government was doing nothing to help the farmers and they left them to their own fate, they lamented. On the day, the TDP legislators have also addressed a press conference demonstrating the attendance of the party legislators from across Telangana by reading out their names and Assembly constituencies. Party leaders Ramana and Dayakar Rao said “We are united and no one is leaving the party”.

This was aimed to check the rumours that the TDP MLAs were going to join the TRS party.

“The TDP has mass base and party would not suffer damage just because one or two MLAs quitting the party. TDP would remain strong and fight against the anti-people policies of the state government,” they said.

Many leaders like former Chief Minister late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy have tried to wipe out TDP but failed. The same fate would be met by KCR.