'Robbing Peter to pay Paul' is Modi's only agenda: KTR

HYDERABAD: 'Robbing Peter to pay Paul', (Pedalanu danchi, peddalaku panchi) is the only agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Telangana IT and Industries Minister K T Rama Rao on Thursday. He alleged that the Prime Minister was looting the country by privatising agriculture and power sectors.

KTR addressed a press conference in Sircilla. Speaking about how Narendra Modi was inclined towards the privatisation of these sectors, he said that Telangana's farmers would be the most affected as the majority of the state's population was from the agricultural sector. Stating that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) had said in Assembly during the recent monsoon session that the Prime Minister was planning to sell off everything to corporate companies, KTR said that this would result in major losses as there would be no contribution from the Centre. The Telangana Minister also pointed out that the Centre had not responded to it and was turning a blind-eye to the farming community.

KTR alleged that the Centre was not buying the produce from Telangana. He said that Telangana was the greenest State in the country, with more than 1.35 crore acres of agricultural land being utilised. The Centre, which under the Food Security Act was bound to buy every grain produced in the country, was shirking its duty by privatising this too, he said. He showed a statement given by National Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey which said that the grain produce would be procured by private organisations.

The Minister also said that by removing subsidies from electricity, the Centre would be literally 'pushing the country into darkness'. Privatising the power sector would lead to excessive rates of electricity and it would affect all the sectors, he said. "Current rates would fluctuate at the same rate as petrol if the sector is privatised," KTR said while stating that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) would condemn this decision of the Centre.