Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy challenged the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to withdraw from electoral politics if the Congress government continues free electricity to farmers without installing meters on agricultural pump sets.In a strong counter attack against the BRS over the proposed Farmer Discom, he said, “If we install meters on agricultural motors or discontinue free power to farmers, we will not contest elections. But if continue free power, will the BRS quit electoral politics?”In an informal chat with reporters here, the Chief Minister claimed that BRS president K. Chandrashekar Rao was attempting to use farmers as a political shield to revive his party’s fortunes. He maintained that the Farmer Discom was designed to ensure uninterrupted and quality power supply and asserted that the Congress government remained fully committed to providing 24-hour quality free power to farmers.The Chief Minister said Telangana was pioneering a unique Farmer Discom model by integrating electricity supplied to agriculture and other subsidised sectors under a separate distribution framework.On paddy procurement, the Chief Minister said that the State government would purchase every grain produced by Telangana farmers. The Centre announces Minimum Support Price (MSP) but does not buy even a single grain,” he said and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy should take responsibility. So far, the government has procured 62 lakh metric tonnes of paddy, including rain-damaged grain at MSP.Taking a dig at the BJP’s Rythu Bharosa yatra, he said the Congress would dump paddy in front of the houses of BJP leaders participating in the bus yatra if the Centre neglects its procurement responsibilities. “They should be ready for that.”The Chief Minister also took exception to criticism over the installation of an NTR statue, saying that attempts to associate the late leader with a particular caste or region reflected a narrow mindset.Referring to inter-state water disputes, Mr. Reddy said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had repeatedly advocated coordination among states for resolving river water issues. However, he expressed disappointment that efforts to secure an appointment with the Maharashtra Chief Minister to discuss the Tummidihatti project had not yielded results.He also questioned why the Centre could not extend the same support to Telangana’s water projects that it had shown to other States in the past. Responding to speculation about local body elections, the Chief Minister said there was no urgency regarding elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Published - May 30, 2026 07:44 pm IST
