Congress flays govt over farmers issues

​Hyderabad: Congress Deputy Floor Leader in Legislative Council Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy on Wednesday criticised that the government for failing to address farmers issues. 

Addressing the media, he said that the government failed to contain farmers suicides besides ensuring minimum support price and basic facilities in agriculture markets. 

He said that the Assurances Committee of the Council had brought these issues to the notice of officials of Agriculture department, which met on Wednesday. The committee has reviewed the steps being taken by the government on the 17 promises made by the ministers on Agriculture sector. 

Ponguleti criticised that most of the House committees have become namesake entities as their meetings were not conducted frequently. The reports of these committees were quite important for the Legislature, he felt. 

The Standing Committee reports of the Parliament would be given a lot of prominence, and their recommendations would be honored by the Union government. However, the same was absent in the State, he noticed. 

The promises made by the government include special horticulture plan for the State, making the State a seed bowl, action on spurious seed, establishment of new market yards and others. 

He said that information about the meetings of the House Committees should be communicated to the officials in advance. Speaker of Assembly and chairman of the Council should take steps for the better conduct of the meetings, he suggested. 

Ponguleti further added that the government did not review the crop loss due to untimely rains. Though the grains were purchased in the markets, they have not been lifted by the traders for weeks together. 

He demanded the government bring its own act to control the spurious seed menace in the State without blaming the Centre. He said that though the Centre had banned BT-3 seeds, they have been supplied in the State.