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Even as Varanasi officials rejected all but one of their 25 nomination papers, the Nizamabad turmeric farmers refuse to budge. A group representing the farmers will visit New Delhi on Friday to lodge their complaint with the Election Commission (EC).
“We all filled applications alike. We got them vetted by lawyers but they have accepted the nomination papers of only S Istari,” K Narasimha Naidu, leader of Turmeric Farmers Association of Telangana, told Business Line .
A five-member team would meet the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and submit a representation, demanding action against the Varanasi officials who rejected their nominations.
‘Smelling a rat’
He sees foul play by the officials. “They have been creating hurdles from the day one. They tried to delay our filings by making excuses such as verifying and reverifying our identity cards. They also delayed giving us the challan forms,” he said.
A five-member committee is trying for an appointment with the CEC to lodge their protest, Tirupati Reddy, district president of the association, said. The challan forms are meant to take deposits (₹25,000 each) from the candidates.
Fifty farmers from Telangana and an equal number from Tamil Nadu had announced their plan to file nomination papers for the Varanasi Lok Sabha Constituency with a view to attract the attention of the country on the problems they are facing.
However, only 25 farmers from Telangana could file papers on the last day on April 29. Of them, only one farmer could pass the scrutiny, leaving the rest seething with anger.
Meanwhile, the protesting farmers have decided to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to address their woes.
The open letter will be released in Delhi on Thursday after their meeting with the Election Commissioner.
The agitating farmers refuted the allegations made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) is behind their movement.
“We have been fighting for the last 13 years. Even some top BJP leaders attended our dharnas in Delhi seven years ago. No political party is behind us,” said Narasimha Naidu.
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