Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Nizamabad Dharmapuri Aravind, who hogged the limelight in the national media by defeating Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha in April 11 parliament elections, is facing a tough situation in his constituency.
The euphoria of defeating the chief minister’s daughter has virtually disappeared within three months, as turmeric farmers in the constituency have been bringing pressure on him for setting up of a turmeric board to ensure remunerative prices for their crops.
Setting up of National Turmeric Board had been the demand of the farmers for several decades, as the region accounts for the highest production in the country.
Interestingly, Aravind made tall promises during the electioneering to the farmers, stating that he would initiate steps for the turmeric board within a week of being elected.
He even executed a bond to that effect on a stamp paper. He also vowed to resign from his Lok Sabha seat, if he did not fulfil his promise.
But it has been more than three months since he was elected as the Nizamabad MP, but there was no move from the Centre to set up the turmeric board. Apparently, the Centre is not keen on the board as it is not a feasible proposition.
Now, the farmers are back to their agitating path. They formed into a joint action committee and threatened to revive the agitation. They gave an ultimatum to the MP to deliver on his promise.
Aravind is now saying that he will do his best to ensure remunerative price for the turmeric.
He, however, is silent on the setting up of the turmeric board. If he doesn’t deliver the promise, the TRS is waiting for bouncing back with the same demand.