Over 200 farmers file nominations in Nizamabad LS seat

Over 200 farmers have filed nominations in Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana to protest the failure of the state and Central governments to ensure better remunerative process for their produce.

Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President K. Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter K. Kavitha is seeking re-election from the seat.

On the last day of filing of nominations on Monday, dozens of turmeric and red sorghum farmers were seen standing in the queue outside the office of Returning Officer to submit their nomination papers as Independent candidates.

With farmers from various parts of Nizamabad and Jagtiyal districts descending on Nizamabad town to file nominations, police erected barricades, deployed additional force and imposed prohibitory orders around the office of the District Collector.

Some sugarcane farmers also filed the nominations. The farmers said their action was to highlight their demand for Minimum Support Price (MSP) and also to voice their angst over the failure of both the Central and state governments to come to their rescue.

Earlier, P. Raja Reddy, a farmers' leader, had stated that 1,000 farmers will enter the fray from Nizamabad constituency to lodge their protest.

He said the farmers were demanding MSP of Rs 15,000 per quintal against Rs 5,000 they were getting now. They have long been demanding setting up of a turmeric board in Nizamabad.

The exact number of farmers who submitted their nomination papers will be known later.

Addressing an election rally last week, Chandrashekhar Rao had assured farmers that the government would address their issues.

Earlier, Kavitha said that the TRS raised the demand for setting up National Turmeric Board in Parliament. "We will continue to raise the demand till the Centre comes forward to fulfil it," she said.

She alleged that Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were provoking farmers to file nominations.

Addressing an election rally, she said 1,000 farmers should file nominations from the Varanasi and Amethi Lok Sabha constituencies from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi are contesting to draw the country's attention to the problems of farmers, especially with respect to poor remunerative prices.