‘What is the protection that farmers have? … make it “One Nation, One Market, One MSP”, everything will be settled'

K Kavitha of TRS, who recently became an MLC from Nizamabad, brings together multiple strands in the state’s politics in a talk with Amin Ali:

The political situation in Telangana is at an interesting stage. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi government now faces a formidable political challenge with the ascent of BJP, apparent in its performance in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Elections (GHMC). Concurrently, the state has scaled up its procurement mechanism, standing fourth in paddy procurement at MSP in the last kharif season. TRS is opposed to the Centre’s farm laws. K Kavitha of TRS, who recently became an MLC from Nizamabad, brings together multiple strands in the state’s politics in a talk with Amin Ali:

TRS opposition to the central farm bills has come as a surprise. Was it a result of BJP’s aggressive election campaign in Hyderabad recently?

Our opposition started from the electricity amendment bill. We are the first state to give 24 hours free, quality power supply to farmers. Central government introduced a bill that our farmers were not ready for. That was the spark. We opposed the electricity bill. We wrote a letter to the PM. Rather than addressing our concerns, the government came up with farm bills.

This is really the first instance of open opposition to the Centre by your government.