TRS raised paddy issue after defeat in Huzurabad: Kishan Reddy

Hyderabad, March 27:  Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G. Kishan Reddy on Sunday alleged that the TRS started targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over paddy procurement after the defeat in the Huzurabad Assembly by-election.

With the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) stepping up its attacks on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, the Union minister hit back targeting Telangana's ruling party.

He said it was only after defeat of TRS in by-election to Huzurabad Assembly seat that the party started raising the issue of paddy procurement. "Why did they not speak before the by-polls," asked Kishan Reddy while talking to reporters here.

The by-election to Huzurabad was caused by the resignation of Eatala Rajender from Assembly and TRS, after he was dropped from the state cabinet by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on the allegations of land encroachment.

Rajender won the by-election as a candidate of BJP.

Kishan Reddy claimed that Rajender quit TRS and joined BJP as he was fed up with the family rule.

The Central minister, who is a member of Lok Sabha from Secunderabad, pointed out that the demand has come down for boiled rice across the country. Those who were consuming it earlier are not showing any interest now. He said boiled rice is not grown by farmers but it is produced in the rice mills.

He said the Central government was spending huge money on procurement of rice from various states. He claimed that Rs 26,600 crore was spent for rice procurement last year while this amount was just Rs 3,400 crore in 2014.

The BJP leader said the Centre would procure rice from the state till the last grain as per the agreement signed with the state government last year.

On the criticism by TRS for not exporting the surplus rice, the government can't export rice as per WTO rules. He claimed that the government is ready to encourage private exporters but they are also not coming forward.

Kishan Reddy hit back at the Centre a day after the TRS threatened to intensify the agitation against the Centre after Ugadi.

The state government is demanding that the Centre procure the entire paddy grown in the state during ongoing Rabi season but the Centre is insisting that it will procure only raw rice.

A ministerial delegation from the state which called on central food minister Piyush Goyal alleged that he acted in an arrogant manner during the meeting. The TRS has slammed the Centre for discriminating against Telangana and has decided to intensify its protest.