Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrashekhar Rao advertised the Telangana model of farmers’ welfare to the farmers of Maharashtra and said that policies like 24/7 power supply and Rythu Bima will be implemented across the country once in power.
He remarked that the farmers of Maharashtra should learn to write and enact laws along with running the plough in their fields.
“My dear farmer brothers, too much time has passed. You have waited enough for the help. Until now, you have run ploughs letting others write. Now, you should get ready not just to run the plough, but also to write and make laws,” he said.
KCR made these remarks at the BRS’ public meeting held at Nanded, Maharashtra. This is BRS’ first public meeting outside Telangana.
“This party was first named TRS and was only present in Telangana. After looking at the situation in the country, we understood that it’s important to bring transformation to the ideology that is ruling this nation. That is why we have decided to work on the national level. BRS is getting support from across the country,” KCR said.
KCR said that in spite of 75 years of independence and successive governments, there is not much change on the ground level. “Water for drinking and irrigation purposes and electricity are not being provided to people. Are the resources not available? he asked.
The BRS chief stated that in spite of several rivers originating and passing through Maharashtra, it’s sad that its farmers are dying in such massive numbers. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, KCR said that only Mann ki Baat is available to people but not basic essentials.
The BRS supremo said that Maharashtra is seeing the most number of farmer suicides in the country and it’s extremely sad. “Please think. When will someone die by suicide? When all the routes in life come to an end, people in distress die by suicide. Why are farmers, who are feeding this country, who are toiling day and night, forced to die by suicide?’ he asked.
On water wars in India
The Telangana CM also bought up how “wars” between states over water were being encouraged when there was adequate availability of it to irrigate every acre of land in India.
“Why are water wars between states being encouraged when there is adequate water to irrigate every acre of land in India?” he asked.
“1 lakh 40 thousand tmcs of rainfall occurs in this country. Half of this water turns into steam through the process of evaporation. The remaining 70-75 thousand TMC of clean water flows in rivers.
We are using only 21 thousand TMC of water. The remaining 50,000 TMCs of water is wasted and ends up in the seas. These are the statistics released by the central government. Leaders are joking if 50 thousand tmacs of water is flowing into seas. There is no drinking water in many places,” said KCR.
The CM further added that he found it surprising to see the situation in Maharashtra. “Many rivers like Godavari, Krishna, Pravara, Purna, Penganga, Wardha, Ghata Prabha, Manjira, Bhima, Pranahita, Indrawati flow from here. Why is there a shortage of water in Maharashtra, which has huge water resources? Who are the factors for this? Please think about this,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the grand old party, he said that the Congress ruled India for 54 years out of 75 years of independent India. BJP ruled for 16 years. “Leaders like VP Singh, Chandrasekhar, Deve Gowda ruled for a year, a year and a half and eight months and left. In a period of 75 years only Congress and BJP ruled for 70 years. These two parties are the cause of this country’s misery,” he added.
“Geographically America is two and a half times bigger than us. But they have only 29 percent of cultivable land. China is one and a half times bigger than us. But the arable land is only 16 percent. India alone has 50 percent of arable land in the entire world. The total geographical area of India is 83 crore acres. Out of this 41 crore acres of land is cultivable. These are not the figures I am telling but the figures calculated by the central government itself.
On China
Commenting on India’s neigbour China, KCR said the Make in India initiative brought by Prime Minister Modi has become “Joke in India”.
“Chinese bazaars are popping up in every small town in the country. The manja of butterflies, Diwali firecrackers, Holi colors, Diwali lamps, the idols of Lord Ganesha that we worship and our national flag come from China. If Make in India was properly implemented, Indian bazaars would have fared better. But wherever you go, Chinese bazaars are found,” he further said.
“Even the average goods train speed in India is 24 kmph, way behind 120 kmph in China,” he said.
Rao also noted that India has 361 billion tonnes of coal reserves, enough to provide country’s energy needs for the next 125 years. “Yet we are privatising the power sector,” he said.
The CM further remarked that Maharashtra itself has huge coal resources but there is no electricity.
KCR said that for the first time in the history of India, his party has pushed forward the theme of ‘Ab ki baar kisan sarkar’ keeping BRS’ central theme around farmers’ welfare. “Please go tonight to your villages and discuss this. India is a country of buddhi jeevi (wise), not buddu (fools),” he said.
The BRS supremo further remarked that when the time came, the greatest of leaders were overthrown by people very easily. “When the emergency was enforced, Jai Prakash Narayan’s movement made people overthrow such big leaders,” he remarked.
KCR said that the reason for the country’s current situation is due to the politics of the BJP and Congress. “They keep blaming each other all the time. Both call each other corrupt. One says you are Ambani and the other says you are Adani,” he stated.
Plight of Dalits under the Centre
Commenting on the plight of Dalits and Adivasis, the CM asked how long they had to lag behind owing to the corrupt practices of the two parties.
“We are providing financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to each family in Telangana state through Dalit Bandhu scheme without any need to return, independent of banks. We will go ahead by implementing this scheme for 175000 Dalit families in Telangana state. If BRS comes to power, every year 25 lakh Dalit families will be given Dalit Bandhu at the rate of Rs 10 lakh,” he added.
“I will do my best to strengthen BRS by undertaking tours in all parts of Maharashtra like West Maharashtra, Vidarbha, North Maharashtra. Jai Maharashtra. Jai Bharat. Jai Hind,” concluded KCR.
