Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao dared the BJP-Shiva Sena combine to implement the Telangana model of development for farmers and for the Dalit community as well.
Announcing that the BRS, which was now registered with the State Election Commission, would contest from every seat in the forthcoming local body elections in the neighbouring State, he called upon farmers and the BRS cadre to show their strength in the Panchayat Raj and Zilla Parishad elections.
Calling upon a massive gathering at Kandhar Loha in Nanded district of Maharashtra to set aside ‘jativad’ (caste) and ‘dharmvad’ (religion) and to uphold ‘kisanvad’ (farmer’s welfare), the Chief Minister said the first meeting itself of the BRS at Nanded’s Bhokar on February 5 had jolted the Maharashtra government into action, which then hastened to announce an input subsidy of Rs.6,000 per acre to 10000.
The BJP government is taking farmers for granted and that’s why the BRS coined the slogan ‘Ab ki Baar Kisan Sarkar’, he said.
He further threw down the gauntlet at Fadnavis, challenging his government to implement Telangana’s 24 hours free power and water supply to the farmers, financial assistance of Rs.10,000 per acre and insurance coverage of Rs.5 lakh apart from procuring the entire yield from farmers.
He also pointed out that each Dalit household in Telangana was being given an assistance of Rs.10 lakh under Dalit Bandhu, and told Fadnavis that he would not have to visit Maharashtra again if the BJP-Shiv Sena government implemented all these schemes.
In New Delhi, farmers had fought for 13 months with 750 of them sacrificing their lives. Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not utter a word then, but when the Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections came, he apologized to the farmers.
“Fight with me and I promise that water will be supplied to every acre,” he said.
Recalling that Telangana was much backward than Maharashtra eight years ago, he said the youngest State in the country had transformed into one of the leading contributors to the nation’s economy.
“If Telangana can transform, why can’t Maharashtra, especially when it is financially sound?” he asked.
