The Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy government had given cotton seed packets worth ₹1,400 to farmers at ₹600, apart from extending ₹500 bonus per quintal when there was no reasonable price for agriculture produce, said senior Congress leader and former minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah.
Mr. Lakshmaiah was addressing a public meeting at Kothapalli village in Bhupalpally mandal late on Tuesday evening and expressed solidarity with former chief whip Gandra Venkataramana Reddy, who undertook padayatra in his constituency. He said farmers were happy under the Congress regime as it had also set up a market intervention fund to rescue farmers and ensured Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Stating that the TRS government was duping farmers by announcing input assistance of ₹4,000 per acre while the farmers were asking for MSP, he questioned Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s commitment towards farmers’ prosperity. “If Mr KCR is so committed to their welfare, he should first release the crop damage compensation, insurance amount and also extend ₹4,000 per acre to tenant farmers as well,” he said as the crowd broke into applause.
Mr. Venkataramana Reddy then took to the mic and sought to know if the villagers had benefited from the double bedroom house scheme, promises of three acre land to Dalit and tribal families and jobs. A chorus of ‘no’ rent the air. He completed his ‘Rythu Bharosa Padayatra’ in three mandals, covering 400 kilometres in 117 villages in 24 days.
