Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has accused the State leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including a Union Minister, of creating confusion among the farming community on the issue of paddy cultivation in the Rabi (Yasangi) season by not giving clarity on the procurement of rice produced in the season by the Centre.
When the State government is trying to give clarity by explaining the farmers about the refusal of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to procure boiled rice from this Rabi season, the BJP leaders have been hiding facts about the boiled rice procurement and asking farmers to go for paddy stating that they would make the State government procure it, ministers S. Niranjan Reddy and G. Kamalakar have said.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, they sought to know whether they were not aware of the fact that the FCI had taken in writing from the State government (Civil Supplies Corporation), on the directions from the Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, in the middle of the procurement of rice produced in the last Rabi season that State would not be given boiled rice quota henceforth.
They also reminded the State BJP leaders of what a few other Union ministers spoke about the boiled rice stocks in the country — that the country already has over 280 lakh tonnes of boiled rice stocks and procuring more such rice would be useless as boiled rice could be used only for two years after milling.
Further, they pointed out that State BJP president Bandi Sanjay spoke of only procurement of rice produced this Kharif season without mentioning the fact that the FCI had not specified the quantity it would lift, so far. He also did not speak about the procurement of rice produced in the Rabi season.
The ministers suggested that the BJP leaders could pursue with the Centre for bringing down the out-turn, processed paddy (rice), fixed at 68 kg for every 100 kg of paddy to 50-55 kg in the Rabi season so that the State could supply raw rice in Rabi too. The out-turn would come down due to the weather conditions in the State, due to which the broken rice percentage would be much higher than 40%.
They rebutted the BJP leaders’ allegations that the State government was threatening them and farmers and said people know how BJP was threatening every one in the country.
