Jagan has done nothing for farmers, alleges TDP

Vijayawada: Former minister and senior TDP leader Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy on Wednesday said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has no right to talk about the farmers as he has done nothing for the farming community till now.

Chandramohan Reddy told media persons here that the payments to be made to the farmers after purchasing the crops are getting abnormally delayed and even the government is not purchasing the farm produce properly. Jagan should learn lessons at least from Telangana as the neighbouring state has purchased 70 lakh tonne grain last year while this year it went up to one crore tonne, the former minister stated.

With regard to aqua farmers, the formation of the Cabinet committee resulted in more losses for them, Chandramohan Reddy said adding that the panel is only looting the aqua farmers at the rate of Rs 5,000 per each tonne in the form of commission. The ministers' panel is making at least Rs 5,000 crore a year through this commissions, he alleged.

The dues to be paid to the farmers have been kept pending for months together, he said. At least Rs 247 crore dues are pending in Nellore district alone while Rs 900 crore is pending in the both Godavari districts, he pointed out. These dues are only for milling and transport charges, he stated.

Chandramohan Reddy said that the less said the better about the ration rice scandal in the state. There is a large amount of corruption in the export of rice from Kakinada and Krishnapatnam ports, he added. Also, on the one side there is no minimum support price (MSP) for farm products and on the other large quantity in the name of wastage is being charged from them. The farmers are thus losing heavily, he said.

The TDP leader felt that the farmers are being subjected to humiliation by the state government. "Jagan Mohan Reddy in an advertisement published on October 17 said that Rs 1.33 lakh crore has been spent under various agricultural schemes, including Rs 45,899 crore for purchase paddy and Rs 7,16 crore for purchase of other farm products. Is he giving these amounts as a dole to the farming community? It is nothing but humiliating the farmers," Chandramohan Reddy remarked.

Chandramohan Reddy said that the Reddy community is given a major share in the recent transfers of the deputy superintendents of police (DSPs). Jagan, on the advise of Prashanth Kishore, uttered blatant lies while in Opposition that one particular community was given preference in police officers' transfers should respond now, he added.