MLAs of TDP, Congress protest TS govt’s indifference to farmers’ suicides

Hyderabad, Nov 7: MLAs belonging to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Congress on Friday demanded that Telangana Agriculture Minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy apologise in the House for insulting farmers. TDP floor leader Errabelli Dayakar Rao and other legislators said they wanted to stall the assembly proceedings till Srinivas Reddy apologised. Otherwise, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao should sack the agriculture minister. The TDP members warned that they would continue to protest until the minister apologises. Even before the second day of the budget session of the House was to convene, at least 12 TDP legislators and later Congress legislators, led by Ramreddy Venkat Reddy and J. Geeta Reddy, gathered at the Martyrs Memorial (Gun Park) outside the Legislative Assembly and raised slogans denouncing the TRS government. Meanwhile, the agriculture minister said there were several reasons that led to the suicides of farmers implying that distress due to power shortage was not the only reason. He also suggested that personal issues could also have led to the suicides.