The high-level delegation from Telangana — which includes Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy — has returned empty handed from New Delhi with the Union Government remaining firm on its decision to not buy parboiled rice from the State.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, who led the paddy delegation, returned to Hyderabad two days ago, seeing the ‘cold response’ from the Union Government.

Also see: Why farmers in the arid zone are not bothered about MSP

The remaining team, which includes a few Ministers and MPs, held discussions with the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food, Public Distribution System and Commerce Piyush Goyal on Friday.

“Our efforts to convince them to buy parboiled rice from the State failed. Piyush Goyal said the Union Government is not ready to buy the rabi rice. We are disappointed,” Niranjan Reddy said after the conclusion of the meeting with Piyush Goyal.

“They also refused to come out with an annual paddy procurement plan as requested by the Telangana State Government,” he said.

The visiting Ministers brought to the notice of the Union Minister that the leaders of BJP’s State unit are instigating farmers to go for paddy in the rabi season despite the fact that the BJP Government at the Centre was reluctant to purchase the produce.

Delegation

The Opposition BJP and Congress have been mounting criticism on the State Government for dissuading farmers from going for paddy in the rabi season. As the sowing seasons approached, the BJP and Congress leaders stepped up their criticism, demanding the State Government to buy the produce.

Sensing adverse political fallout, Chandrashekar Rao, who is also the President of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), turned the tables against the BJP saying that it was the Centre, not the State Government, which had the final say in this regard.

He led the delegation to Delhi to get clarity on the paddy procurement plan and asked farmers to wait for the outcome of the talks before going ahead for the rabi sowing.

comment COMMENT NOW