Hyderabad: Amidst speculations of rift in the party and rumours of his exit, senior BRS leader T Harish Rao has denied any differences with the party top brass, and said he was ready to work under party working president KT Rama Rao if party supremo K Chandrashekar Rao appointed him as president.

The senior BRS leader made these comments during a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday. Harish Rao said, “I have told many times that I have no objection if the responsibility is given to KTR by the BRS chief KCR. I will welcome and accept the orders of KCR as a disciplined soldier.” He urged the opponents to stop the cheap campaign about his leaving the party. He called upon the people not to believe the fake campaign.

The BRS leader came down heavily on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, accusing him of completely neglecting farmers’ issues in the state while spending public resources on beauty pageants and event managements. “While soldiers are fighting at the borders to protect the country, farmers are battling for their survival at procurement centres, waiting in harsh weather to sell their produce, the Chief Minister is busy conducting reviews for beauty pageants.

Harish Rao pointed out that the Congress government’s mismanagement of Rabi paddy procurement pushed farmers into distress.

The government announced that it would procure 70 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, but the procurement had not even crossed 40 lakh metric tonnes, he said, adding that even for the paddy that was purchased, payments of over Rs 4,000 crore were pending.

Farmers are still waiting despite assurances from Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy that payments will be made within 48 hours. But many farmers haven’t received any amount even after 10 days, he said.

The former minister criticized the delay in disbursing Rythu Bharosa input assistance as well. He said that though Rs 18,000 crore was allocated in the budget, the government has failed to deliver timely support to farmers. Those with more than 3 acres have been left out, and even the rest are receiving payments in a staggered and delayed manner. Before elections, the Congress promised Rs 15,000 per acre, more than the Rs 10,000 provided under the BRS government, but that promise remained unfulfilled, he remarked. Referring to the Warangal Farmers’ Declaration signed in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, Harish Rao asked what explanation the Congress party would now give to the farmers.

“Even Pakistan was able to secure loans, but people are refusing to lend to Telangana because they have no faith in this government,” he said sarcastically.