Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has stepped up its agitation against the Congress-led Telangana government, staging statewide protests over the ongoing fertiliser crisis and demanding a 15-day special Assembly session dedicated to addressing farmer distress. Led by working president KT Rama Rao, BRS legislators and supporters carried out symbolic demonstrations across Telangana, including a dramatic “urea protest” at Gun Park in Hyderabad, where empty fertiliser bags were displayed to highlight the acute shortage. Farmers too continued their own protests, with reports of long queues and struggles to access basic agricultural inputs, further fuelling discontent across rural areas of the State.
Addressing protestors, Rama Rao launched a sharp attack on the Congress government, alleging that farmers were being subjected to humiliation and despair, with some leaving their footwear and Aadhaar cards in lines to retain their place for urea. He accused the ruling party of pushing farmers into desperation, contrasting it with what he described as uninterrupted supplies during the BRS’s previous decade in power. As the agitation intensified, BRS legislators staged sit-ins at the Agriculture Commissioner’s office and later outside the Telangana Secretariat, where police intervened and arrested several party leaders. The BRS condemned the arrests, accusing the government of silencing elected representatives instead of responding to the urgent demands of farmers.
The BRS also demanded that the ongoing Assembly session be extended for 15 days to hold a full-fledged debate on the fertiliser crisis, irrigation issues, and the rising number of farmer suicides, which the party claimed had already crossed 600 under Congress rule. Rama Rao said that the State government’s failure extended beyond farmers, citing unmet promises to students on fee reimbursements and other welfare schemes. Farmers, meanwhile, continued to rally in districts across Telangana, expressing outrage over the delay in fertiliser supply and supporting the BRS’s agitation. With tempers running high, the issue has quickly become one of the most contentious political flashpoints of the new Assembly session, with the BRS vowing to escalate its protests until the government announces concrete measures.
