Telangana BJP president N. Ramachander Rao, on Wednesday, assured farmers that the Centre will continue purchasing the entire cotton crop at Minimum Support Price (MSP) through the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) until March next year, irrespective of quality.
He urged farmers not to “panic” over rumors of procurement restrictions. Addressing a press conference, Mr. Rao accused the Congress and BRS of spreading “misleading propaganda” against the CCI, claiming it had imposed new conditions and caused hardship to farmers.
“The Centre has only sought clarification on reports of unusually high yields of 12 quintals per acre compared to last year’s 6.32 quintals, which seem suspicious since other states reported lower yields—Punjab (5.30), Gujarat (7), Andhra Pradesh (9), Karnataka (8),” he said.
The BJP leader asserted that the Narendra Modi government is fully committed to farmers’ welfare. Telangana now has over 200 cotton procurement centres, up from 70–80 earlier, and the Centre is ready to set up 100 more if the state proposes new ginning mills. Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy is holding talks with CCI, state officials, and mill representatives to resolve issues, he said.
To curb middlemen and ensure transparency, the Centre has launched “Kapas Kisan-App”, which assigns time slots to farmers, reduces congestion at centres, and enables direct bank transfers. Mr. Rao urged the state government to ensure fair procurement and advised farmers to sell only at notified government centres.
