KAKINADA: Rajanagaram MLA and YSRC East Godavari district president Jakkampudi Raja alleged that former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was trying to woo the people, particularly farmers in the state with his political gimmicks ahead of elections. But, farmers should not believe the TD chief who is in fact against the agriculture sector, he said.
Speaking to the media in Rajamahendravaram on Sunday, the MLA said during his earlier stint as Chief Minister, Chandrababu said the agriculture sector was a ‘useless exercise’ and providing free power to farmers would lead to the shortage of power in the state. But now, the same person, who had encouraged mediators and rice millers during his regime, is singing paeans to agriculture for the vote bank, the MLA alleged.
He said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had brought several reforms in the agriculture sector to make them debt-free. Apart from providing crop insurance, his government is purchasing entire paddy crop without considering moisture content and quality by paying directly to farmers within 21 days without any mediators, he said.
The TD government had spent Rs 11,000 crores for the agriculture sector whereas the YSRC government spent Rs 24,000 crores during the past four years and also took steps to provide Godavari water for irrigation, he said.
Ridiculing Chandrababu for his ultimatum to the government to purchase paddy within 72 hours, the MLA said the TD government had procured only 74,69,982 MT of paddy, rejecting discoloured and sprouted paddy and could not pay the farmers till six months of purchase. But, after Jagan assumed charge as the Chief Minister, all the arrears of the previous government to farmers were cleared and 1,31,83,454 MT of paddy has been procured by Rs 24,488 crore was paid to farmers. Chandrababu has no moral right to criticise the YSRC government, he said.
