AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh accused the State and Central governments of sleeping while the farmers in the country were agitating for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce.
False cases have been booked against the chilli farmers in Khammam district. “What is the crime of chilli farmers? Is asking for fair price a crime?,” he sought to know.
Mr. Singh and TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and other leaders were addressing the party workers at Mulkanoor in Bhimadevarapalli mandal in Husnabad Assembly constituency here on Sunday.
Mr. Singh said both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao were very liberal in making promises, but not in delivering the same. “Mr. Modi says he did in three years what Congress could not do in 60 years and same is the case with KCR. But it was the Congress which fought for independence and developed the country,” he pointed out.
In Modi’s government the chill price has gone down from ₹ 15,000 per quintal to ₹ 2,500 per quintal, he said. The Congress leader said without Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, separate Telangana State would not have been possible. When Chandrababu Naidu and Jaganmohan Reddy adopted double standards on the issue, it was the Congress that took initiative. “Is it possible with just two TRS MPs? Unfortunately the Congress did not get credit, but KCR got,” he said.
Meanwhile, TPCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Congress party would waive ₹ 2 lakh to each farmer when it comes to power in the next election. The Congress government would also give ₹ 3,000 stipend to all unemployed youth after coming to power in the next elections.
Mr. Reddy appealed to the Congress workers to stay united and ensure victory to the party in next elections.
“We have asked for proportionate reservations to BCs, SCs and STs both in Assembly and outside. But KCR did not listen to our plea,” he said.
AICC SC cell chairman Khuntia, Koppula Raju, DCC president K Mruthunjayam, former MP Ponnam Prabhakar, former chief whip G. V. Ramana Reddy, D Sridhar Babu, Errabelli Swarna and others were present.
