Till the recent elections, there was a talk that Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had been in hand in glove with the Bharatiya Janata Party in his attempt to completely decimate the Congress party in the state.
On many occasions during the previous term, the TRS supported the decisions taken by the Narendra Modi government, whether it was demonetization, GST and even in the election of President of India and Vice President. There were allegations that the TRS was nothing but a B team of the BJP.
However, situation has changed dramatically after the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP was apparently angry with the TRS for raising the bogey of federal front hoping that the saffron party would not be able to get absolute majority. Added to this, KCR’s pungent comments against Modi widened the gap between the two.
Now, the BJP has started treating TRS as its enemy. It is once again evident from the way the Modi government completely sidelined KCR in formulation of a national level policy on agriculture to help transform the agriculture sector and provide succor to farmers.
On Monday, the Modi government appointed a high-powered committee on agriculture, including chief minisers of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, besides Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand. The panel has been asked to submit a report in two months.
While the committee has included even chief ministers of opposition states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, it has completely ignored the Telangana chief minister, who claims have brought in revolutionary changes in agriculture with his Rythu Bandhu scheme, aimed to provide investment support to farmers.
“Obviously, Modi was irritated by KCR’s tall claims that he had the vision to bring qualitative change in the lives of farmers and that his Rythu Bandhu was a role model for the entire country,” a BJP leader said.
However, the TRS leaders are terming it as politically motivated decision.
"It is unfortunate if the Centre doesn’t appreciate KCR's efforts for the development of agriculture in the state and also his contribution at the Centre. It is also unfortunate that even after replicating Telangana's schemes like 'Rythu Bandhu', they do not think his experience and vision is needed for the country," TRS spokesman Abid Rasool Khan said,
He said Telangana was path-breaker in the agriculture sector as it reduced farmers' suicides by providing them 24-hour electricity and ample water, completing irrigation projects in record time and implementing innovative schemes like 'Rythu Bandhu' to provide financial assistance for cultivation and 'Rythu Beema' to offer free life insurance.
"All his experience would have helped the Centre in policy making. I think, it is only a political decision they have taken," said Khan.