Hyderabad: Alleging that the Centre is not giving importance to Telangana in crop procurement compared to other states, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday, June 1, said the state government would announce a “war” on the Centre after June 15 if it failed to purchase paddy and other crops from the state.
Addressing a public meeting at Kagaznagar in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district on Monday evening after launching the second phase of ‘Indiramma’ housing scheme, he also alleged that the PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy are looking down on him in facilitating a meeting with his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the height of a barrage across the Godavari River proposed to be built by Telangana.
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Revanth Reddy is seeking a meeting with Fadnavis, as the barrage upon its completion would lead to submergence in Maharashtra.
Reddy said the state government is aiming to procure 75 lakh quintals of paddy during the current Rabi season.
Though the state government’s representatives met Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Pralhad Joshi several times, the Centre is not giving Telangana the importance it gave to Punjab, Haryana and other states in terms of crop procurement, he alleged.
The state’s paddy procurement would be over by June 15, while maize crop output this season is about 40 lakh quintals against four to five lakh quintals in the past, he said.
Jowar and sunflower have also seen good crop output during the current season, he added.
Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, who is from Telangana, should take responsibility to make the Centre purchase the produce from the state, he said.
“I am asking Kishan Reddy where we stock the paddy, maize and others procured by us? I am appealing to Kishan Reddy. Immediately, the Centre should purchase paddy, including that soaked in rainwater, and others. Kishan Reddy should take that responsibility. If Kishan Reddy does not take that responsibility, they will be dumped at your party office or your house after June 15. War will be declared on the Centre,” the chief minister said.
He further alleged that his Maharashtra counterpart, Fadnavis, is not responding to his request for time to discuss the height of a barrage proposed to be built by Telangana on the Godavari River at Tummidihetti on the inter-state border.
Kishan Reddy should take responsibility for arranging the meeting with Fadnavis as well, he said.
“I humbly submit that if Kishan Reddy does not take responsibility, then it would be a problem for him to move freely in Telangana,” he said.
It is the responsibility of the state to procure and the responsibility of the Centre to purchase them, the CM said.
Revanth Reddy said he is seeking a meeting with Fadnavis as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent suggestion that chief ministers should resolve inter-state disputes through dialogue.
“If you don’t give us time, then the problem will become intense. If it becomes intense, then Adilabad district would move like a sudden surge. If the farming community in Adilabad surges, then it will be a problem for Maharashtra. Fadnavis should remember that Telangana would not tolerate insults,” he said, appealing to his counterpart to cooperate.
Claiming that Fadnavis has been showing negligence, he said the former has not even been showing basic courtesy towards him.
Recalling that the NDA government had transferred seven mandals of Telangana to Andhra Pradesh to facilitate the construction of the Polavaram multi-purpose project, Revanth Reddy asked why PM Modi cannot help in the transfer of 2,000 acres in Maharashtra to Telangana, which would be submerged following the construction of the Tummidihetti barrage.
The Telangana government is ready to bear the compensation cost for the acquisition of the 2,000 acres, he added.
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