Hitting out at the Telangana government over parivaarwad, corruption and farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday promised the poll-bound state a National Turmeric Board and a Central Tribal University in Mulugu, as he unveiled projects to the tune of Rs 13,500 crore.

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“People and farmers of Telangana are facing corruption under the government. People were promised loan waiver, but it was not fulfilled because of which farmers committed suicide. We are respecting our farmers. We are giving them the correct price for their hard work. Money is going directly into farmers’ bank accounts. There is no place for any middleman. This government of Telangana has only done corruption in irrigation projects,” Modi said.

“Two families are running Telangana. These are family-run governments, they have only done commission and corruption. They run the party like a private limited company — the president, CEO, director, treasurer, general manager all are from the family,” Modi said, attacking parivaarwad.

Telangana is the largest producer of turmeric in the country. The announcement of a turmeric board comes on the back of a long-standing demand, especially in belts such as Nizamabad, Nirmal and Jagitial districts, where the farmers believe a board will help them expand their market and fetch a better price for their produce while also giving them financial and stability during natural calamities. They have also been demanding an MSP of Rs 10,000 per quintal.

TURMERIC FARMERS MATTER

Nizamabad, in particular, was where chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s (KCR) daughter K Kavitha lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Dharmapuri Arvind, who among many, had bagged the support of turmeric farmers after promising to set up a turmeric board. Arvind had even signed a bond paper vowing to resign if he failed to set up a board within days of being elected as an MP.

Since then the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has been targeting the BJP for failing to set up a board until the PM’s big poll sop, which is likely to have a positive impact on the party’s prospects in at least 12 assembly constituencies, including Armoor, Bodhan, Nizamabad (urban and rural).

“This is a big shot in the arm for the BJP as we have finally been able to assuage concerns of farmers, especially in Nizamabad, where we have a high chance of winning. KCR and his daughter Kavitha, who have been day dreaming about winning an MP seat from here, have been left stumped,” a local leader from the BJP’s Nizamabad unit told CNN-News18.

SAMMAKKA SARAKKA CENTRAL TRIBAL UNIVERSITY

In addition to the turmeric board, PM Modi has also promised to set up the Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University in Mulugu, ticking off one of the key assurances stated in the AP Reorganization Act. This will be the second tribal university for both the Telugu states. The central government is also developing a Central Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh’s Saluru at a cost of Rs 834 crore.

PM Modi said the Centre has decided to set up a tribal varsity in Telangana at a cost of Rs 900 crore. “This university would have been constituted earlier had the BRS government cooperated. They refused to give land for five years. KCR’s family doesn’t care about the honour of the tribal community,” PM Modi said.

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This is PM Modi’s first big counter to the ruling BRS government which has accused the Centre of turning a blind eye to Telangana and failing to fulfill promises made under the AP Reorganization Act.

As per the 2011 census, Schedule Tribes constitute 9.4% of Telangana’s total population. For the BJP, which has been relying on its social engineering exercise to reach out to voters, a tribal university will bolster their claim of working for the welfare of the ST community and counter welfare schemes doled out by KCR, which include ownership of land to tribals, Rythu Bandhu scheme offering a coverage of 5000 Rs per acre per crop season, etc.

The party also hopes to assuage the concerns of the Lambada community, which has been upset over BJP MP Soyam Bapu Rao’s comments to remove them from the ST list. His comments left the BJP on a sticky wicket with Lambadas even staging protests and heckling BJP state president G Kishan Reddy, while seeking an apology.