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Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Sunday, May 3, wrote to Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, accusing state Agriculture Minister Tummula Nageshwara Rao of misleading farmers and deflecting attention from the Congress government’s unfulfilled election promises.

In the letter, Bandi Sanjay said that while Congress had promised a complete loan waiver for farmers who had borrowed up to Rs 2 lakh, the state government’s own figures showed only 25 lakh of an estimated 45 lakh eligible farmers had received relief, leaving nearly 20 lakh farmers without the promised benefit.

Taking aim at Tummula Rao’s claim that minimum support price (MSP) legislation was within the state’s purview, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said fixing MSP was a central subject and that the state government could not shed its own responsibility by pointing fingers at the Centre. 

He noted that the Modi government had been procuring 23 varieties of crops at MSP and questioned why the Agriculture Minister was unaware of this.

On the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Bandi Sanjay rejected allegations that the scheme benefited private insurers at farmers’ expense, pointing out that both BJP-ruled and non-BJP states had implemented it successfully, with crop-loss farmers receiving compensation.

He also countered the claim that the Centre had given a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal only for fine paddy, noting that coarse paddy farmers had been left out, and demanded the state implement its own manifesto commitments before attacking central schemes.