475 farmer suicides under Congress rule, claims Harish Rao

HYDERABAD: Former minister T Harish Rao accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of failing to address farmer issues, leading to 475 suicides in the last nine months.

Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Sunday, Harish Rao claimed that despite being provided with the names of deceased farmers, Revanth Reddy took no action to support the farming community.

Harish Rao criticised Revanth for his inconsistent promises, highlighting the difference between his pre-election commitments and post-election actions. He ridiculed Revanth Reddy, stating, "You change your stance faster than a sunflower turns to the sun," and added that even "useless plants" would feel embarrassed watching Revanth’s behaviour.

He accused Revanth of failing to deliver his promise to waive all crop loans by December 9. Harish Rao mentioned that Revanth Reddy later restricted the waivers to one member per family, leading to internal conflicts in farming households due to ration card regulations.

Harish Rao pointed to the tragic suicide of farmer Surender Reddy in Medchal as evidence of Congress’s failure. Surender Reddy took his life outside the Medchal agriculture office after his crop loan was not fully waived due to the ration card rule. His suicide note, written on his bank passbook, cited the incomplete loan waiver as the reason for his decision. Surender had a loan of Rs 1,92,443 for 4 acres, while his mother had Rs 1,15,662 for 2 acres, but only Rs 2 lakh was waived for the family, leaving Surender with significant debt.

He condemned the Congress government for imposing unnecessary restrictions, such as linking loan waivers to ration cards, which pushed farmers further into distress. He held the Congress government responsible for Surender Reddy’s death and accused it of betraying the farming community with broken promises.