KCR demands `10k/acre aid for Maha farmers

Mumbai: Telangana Chief Minister and BRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said the Rs 6,000 assistance for farmers announced by the Maharashtra government was inadequate. Speaking at a rally in Loha tehsil in Nanded district, around 450 km from Mumbai, Rao suggested that the Maharashtra government decided to give this financial aid to farmers only after he addressed a rally in Nanded last month.

“I came here only once and a provision to give each farmer Rs 6,000 per year was found in the Maharashtra budget. Why was it never done earlier? This aid is like sprinkling water on a fire. We do not want it. We want Rs 10,000 should be given to farmers per acre who can utilise it for investing in agricultural activities,” the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader said. He claimed the Telangana government under him improved the condition of farmers over years. “Some eight-nine years ago, Telangana was in bad condition. Farmers were committing suicide in large numbers. But we changed the governance and reduced their burden. If Telangana can improve why a State like Maharashtra which has more resources, cannot improve?” he asked. Rao reiterated the “Ab Ki Bar, Kisan Sarkar” slogan suggesting a change in the Central government in the 2024 polls.

Former Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra Haribhau Rathod, ex-MLAs Shankar Dhondge and Harshvardhan Jadhav, and local political leaders joined the BRS in the presence of KCR at the rally on Sunday.

On February 5, KCR had said in Nanded that the time has come for peasants to take the reins of the country and held the Congress and BJP “kasoorwar” (guilty) for the plight of farmers in the country in the last 75 years.