Sounding the poll bugle for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Maharashtra, party president and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has asked the people of the state to ensure a "farmers' government" and called for emulating the 'Telangana model' of governance, PTI reported.
Speaking at the public rally of his BRS party in Maharashtra at Aurangabad, Rao said, "Ab ki baar kisan sarkar."
Exhorting farmers to "rise and roar like the lions they were", KCR asked them to vote for BRS in zilla parishads in the upcoming local body elections. He said if BRS was elected, welfare schemes based on "Telangana model" and development programmes would be implemented in Maharashtra.
Rao said it was regrettable that farmers had to stage a 13-month agitation in the national capital, following which PM Modi apologised and assured them, but nothing has changed.
KCR said, "We need out of box thinking to change India. Nothing will happen by changing the ruling parties. We have to bring about change on our own. That is why we have BRS. The BRS is not for any class or religion but for all people".
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"A country like Zimbabwe has created a 6,500 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) reservoir. Three to four of such reservoirs are required in our country. But our country has not learned the importance of water. More than double the amount of water needed is available, yet there is water scarcity. Rulers, PM, and CMs lack the will," KCR further said.
He questioned why Maharashtra's leadership, in spite of the state being the richest and Mumbai being the financial centre of India, had neglected supply of basic necessities.
KCR said several major rivers originate in Maharashtra, but the state has cities that receive drinking water once a week, and over five to seven farmers are dying by suicide every day.
The Telangana CM promised drinking water supply through taps in every household in Maharashtra within five years of the BRS coming to power and said quality power supply would also be ensured for all sectors, including agriculture.
Criticising the state's electricity policy, KCR said the nation had coal to provide an uninterrupted supply of power for 150 years.
"If people in Telangana can get electricity round the clock, why not the people of Maharashtra? Here, electricity distribution is being privatised. Once we are in power, we will get back everything that has been privatised," he claimed.
He also questioned why Maharashtra does not have an insurance scheme for farmers on the lines of Telangana, where Rs 5 lakh is given to the legal heir if a farmer passes away. KCR asked farmers to become MLAs and MPs, instead of just being used by leaders.