If watershed moment, why farmers are not celebrating, asks Telangana minister

Telangana’s Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday differed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement that the passage of Farm Bills in Parliament is a ‘watershed moment’ for the agriculture sector.

“If the agriculture Bill is truly a watershed moment, why is no farmer celebrating and why has a minister of NDA’s ally party resigned?,” Rama Rao asked in reference to Modi’s comment.

After the Rajya Sabha passed farm bills on Sunday after which, the Prime Minister described itas a watershed moment.

A watershed moment in the history of Indian agriculture! Congratulations to our hardworking farmers on the passage of key bills in Parliament, which will ensure a complete transformation of the agriculture sector as well as empower crores of farmers,” Modi had tweeted.

Rama Rao, took to Twitter on Monday and said, “When the Telangana Legislature passed the ‘farmer friendly’ Revenue Bill last week, there was widespread jubilation and cheer among the farming community across the state.”

In another tweet, Rama Rao slammed the BJP MPs from Telangana for claiming that the Centre released a staggering Rs 7,000 crore to Telangana in the fight against Covid-19.

The TRS opposed the Farm Bills in Parliament saying they would do a ‘lot of injustice’ to the farm sector in the country. Telangana Chief Minister and TRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao had said the Bills would benefit the corporates and adversely impact the farmers.

“For public consumption,it was stated in the Bills that farmers could sell their produce anywhere in the country. But in reality, the Bills would enable the traders to go anywhere in the country to buy the produce. The Bills would also help the corporate lobby to spread to all corners in the country and pave the way for the private traders,” the Chief Minister said.