Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday, March 24, assured that the Union government will procure excess stocks of raw rice from Telangana as per the quality specified by the Food Corporation of India. The assurance came from Goyal after a delegation of Telugu Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders met Goyal in Parliament over the issue of procurement of rice from Telangana.
Emphasising that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is committed to the welfare of farmers, Goyal said the Union government procures rice from all over the country without any discrimination. The minister further said that the Telangana government has written a letter to the Union government, stating that the state will provide raw rice which is being consumed across the country. "The government stands committed to buying whatever excess stocks of raw rice in Telangana as per the quality specified by the Food Corporation of India and as per the agreement.... The farmers of Telangana can rest assured there is absolutely no discrimination," Goyal said.
According to an official statement, Goyal alleged that the Telangana government was misleading farmers of the state on the rice procurement issue. In 2014-15, Goyal claimed Rs 3,391 crore was paid as MSP of paddy to farmers of Telangana. However, in KMS (kharif marketing season) 2020-21, the Union government paid Rs 26,610 crores as paddy MSP to the farmers of Telangana.
"The Union government stands committed to buy whatever excess stocks are there in Telangana, after their own consumption, in the form of raw rice and as per the quality specified by Food Corporation of India (FCI), as per the MoU with the Union government, as was committed by the state government in writing to the Union government," he said.
Dissatisfied with the results of the meeting, TRS has said that Union Minister Piyush Goyal has once again insulted Telangana. “The hopes of the Telangana farmers who have been working hard all year long have been dashed. The Union Minister has hurt the self-esteem of poor people in Telangana, who were just getting used to eating fine rice after decades of hardship,” TRS Party tweeted.
“‘Get the people of Telangana habituated to eating broken rice. The problem is solved automatically’ — this was the free advice given by Piyush Goyal when our ministers demanded to buy the paddy from the Rabi season. Moreover, he said they would only buy whatever sells in the shops, speaking like a true private trader,” TRS Party said.
“This is an issue of life and death of Telangana farmers. The team of ministers who went to Delhi for a solution of the paddy procurement issue was once again insulted,” the party tweeted.
కేంద్ర మంత్రి పీయూష్ గోయల్ మరోసారి తెలంగాణను అవమానించారు. ఆరుగాలం కష్టపడి పంట పండిస్తున్న తెలంగాణ రైతన్నల ఆశలపై నీళ్లు చల్లారు.
— TRS Party (@trspartyonline) March 25, 2022
దశాబ్దాల అరిగోస తర్వాత ఇప్పుడిప్పుడే సన్నబువ్వ తింటున్న తెలంగాణ నిరుపేదల ఆత్మగౌరవాన్ని దెబ్బతీశారు.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/R1MFUmu2pn
The Union government’s move came after Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao wrote to PM Modi, asking him to direct the Food Ministry to procure entire paddy from the state during the current Rabi season. The Chief Minister, who is also known as KCR, wrote that there is no uniform national level food grains procurement policy. "For example, the government of India procures an entire marketable surplus of paddy and wheat in some states like Punjab, Haryana but not in other states like Telangana. There should not be different policies of the Union government for different states within the country," he said.
"Such inconsistent and uncertain policies of the government of India are causing a high degree of frustration and dissatisfaction among the farmers. Our country has witnessed the fury of our farmers in the last two years when the government of India enacted anti-farmer laws. Farmers were feeling helplessness and aggrieved. Bowing down to the farmer's agitation, the government of India had no option but to repeal those laws," KCR added.