Country's food security at risk, says TRS

Hyderabad, Sep 10 (IANS) Food security in the country is at risk and the lack of foresight in the policies of the Central government is the main reason behind this unfortunate situation, said the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) on Saturday.

TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao stated that six months ago, the Central government boasted that it had enough wheat and rice reserves for four years.

Ironically, the same Centre imposed a 20 per cent export duty on rice exports saying that the foodgrain stocks in the country are diminishing.

This proves the policy failure of the Central government in the procurement of food grains, he said.

He demanded union minister for food and public distribution Piyush Goyal to implement one nation and one food grain procurement policy.

Rama Rao said the Narendra Modi-led government, which has already imposed restrictions on the export of wheat and wheat based products, recently levied 20 per cent duty on rice exports and imposed a ban on the export of broken rice as well.

KTR said that the Modi government has taken this decision due to the huge reduction in stocks of food grains in FCI godowns and at various centres.

The TRS leader alleged that the reason for the current state of affairs is the Centre's lack of awareness of the basic needs of the people and lack of a clear food grain procurement policy.

"In a bid to portray Telangana as a failed state, the Modi government got caught in its own trap. Six months ago, when the Telangana government appealed to the Central government to buy the foodgrains from the state, the Centre outrightly refused saying that the country has more than the required reserves. The same Central government imposed restrictions on food grain exports now," said KTR, demanding an explanation from the Central minister.

KTR, who is also a state Cabinet minister, said that India's food security is in jeopardy due to the discrimination of the Modi government against Telangana state and its farmers.

"The current food grain crisis clearly indicates that the Modi government lacks a long-term plan for the country's food needs. It is people's misfortune that the inefficient BJP government at the Center neither has any clue about the development and welfare of the people nor does it have a strategic long term plan," the minister remarked.

He alleged that six months ago, Union Minister Piyush Goyal spoke very insultingly to the Telangana team that visited Delhi with a request to buy paddy grown in the state.

KTR criticised the Modi government's failure to have a comprehensive food grain procurement policy for the country. Not having food security in a country with a massive population indicates the short-sightedness of the BJP government.

He demanded the Central government should now change its policies and give priority to welfare of the people and food security.

He stated that the Telangana government has always advocated one nation one procurement policy for this purpose. But the Central government is causing a lot of trouble for the farming community by not implementing a clear policy on grain procurement.

The Centre is giving more importance to politics than having foolproof procurement policies. This is why the country is facing the food grain crisis now.

The Minister demanded that the BJP-led Central government, for the food security of the people of the country, should set aside politics and take unbiased decisions.

KTR urged Piyush Goyal to take steps to procure the entire food grains from states like Telangana which are producing food grains in large quantities.