KCR to chair TRS Legislature Party meet today

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is to address a TRS legislature party meeting at Telangana Bhavan on November 16 at 4 pm to discuss mounting pressure on the Centre on the paddy procurement row. The CM will hold the key meeting with TRS leaders to formulate a strategy to go forward to press the Centre on the paddy row. Several ministers have already expressed displeasure at the Centre for ignoring its responsibility to procure paddy on the lines of Punjab and other States.

KCR has slammed the Centre for double standards on paddy procurement, as the State got rainy season stocks. He criticised that the Centre procures paddy from Punjab and not from Telangana. He will hold the key meeting with the party leaders and come up with a strategy to further press the Centre on paddy row. He is likely to stage a protest at Delhi on the issue, party sources already said.

The TRS boss is unhappy with the Centre's adamant attitude of not procuring paddy during the yasangi season. The Centre has declared that it cannot take paddy from Telangana; the State government has held State-wide dharnas on November 12.

The CM pressed his Cabinet colleagues and party leaders to protest in all districts to mount pressure on the Centre that day. The State BJP leaders had held protests on November 11 and demanded that the KCR government procure paddy. The BJP has been asking the State government to procure paddy, instead of pressing the Centre to do so.

However, TRS leaders conducted wide-spread protests and vowed to intensify them. KCR himself announced to mount pressure until the Centre comes down to lift paddy stocks from Telangana.