Revanth Reddy indicates Congress may scrap 24-hr free power, says 3 hours enough for farmers

HYDERABAD: Reinforcing the much-believed perception that he belongs to the Chandrababu Naidu school of thought, Telangana Congress president A Revanth Reddy on Monday exposed his idea of replicating the TDP playbook in Telangana.

He didn’t mince words in asserting that it’s enough to give three hours of free power to farmers, instead of 24 hours free power.

In response to a question at Telugu Association of North America (TANA) at Philadelphia that would the Congress, if voted to power, scrap 24-hour free power to farmers, Rythu Bandhu etc, Revanth Reddy said most farmers in Telangana didn’t need 24-hour free power.

“Most farmers in Telangana are small and marginal. The landholdings in Telangana are less than three acres each. To irrigate one acre, an hour of power is sufficient. At this rate, three hours is enough to irrigate three acres completely. In all, it’s enough if power is supplied free of cost for eight hours,” said Revanth Reddy.

He also alleged that with a view to “collecting commissions from private power producers, Chief Minister KCR is doling out the free electricity which is unreasonable.”

Beginning with scrapping of Rs.50 per horsepower charge to farmers, introduced by the late NT Rama Rao, it was Chandrababu Naidu who had always talked and acted against farmers.

Naidu has always faced a charge that he had said “agriculture is useless.” (Vyavasaayam dandaga.)

It’s on this point, he was attacked by the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy and also KCR.

It was the steep hike in power tariff to agricultural and domestic sector by forming AP Transco and AP Genco that was first opposed by KCR.

It may be recalled that it was KCR who had first raised the voice of dissent against the power reforms without factoring in difficulties of all sections. He had dashed off a missive to Chandrababu Naidu on May 28, 2000 at the time of Mahanadu, TDP’s annual jamboree, in his capacity of the Deputy Speaker of AP Assembly.

This terribly embarrassed Naidu and the TDP.

It’s at the behest of KCR’s constant sloganeering and echoing of farmers’ woes with electricity that even the Congress party under Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had to promise free power to farmers.

It was the e power agitation in 2001 that signalled the downfall of the TDP.

When KCR had realised his dream of separate Telangana, he effectively implemented and has been continuing unabated the 24-hour free power to farmers.

After all, old habits, they say, die hard. Revanth Reddy, despite crossing over to the Congress six years ago, and is now helming it in Telangana is crooning “his master’s voice”.

Revanth’s Congress has dropped sufficient hints that it would not be different from the TDP.

In fact, Telangana Congress NRI Cell member Sravanth Poreddy released a video as latest on Monday that the Telangana NRI Congress committee was looking like Telangana TDP NRI Cell. It’s filled with all migrants who sing paeans to Revanth Reddy and those who said: “Jai Balayya and Jai Revanth Reddy.”

Such is the indignation that’s ignited in the minds of most Congressmen within and outside Telangana about the party.

Does Revanth Reddy have the green signal from the Congress high command to say just eight hours of free power would be sufficient for farmers? Would the Congress scrap the 24-hour free power scheme if at all it’s voted to power?