Gogineni Ranga Nayukulu popularly known as Prof. N.G. Ranga was a true friend of the farmers. He not only fought for the betterment of the farmers also the landless farmhands, said former Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh and former Governor of Tamil Nadu K. Rosaiah.
Speaking at the 116th birth anniversary celebration of Prof. Ranga organised by Veluvolu Trust, here at the Andhra University Assembly Hall, Mr. Rosaiah, said, “I was his student and it was he who taught me what farmers and agriculture mean to a country. Prof. Ranga’s sacrifice was immense and he even did not go for children, as he was under the impression that having children would divert his cause and he wanted to serve the nation selflessly.”
Former MP Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, who was also a colleague of Prof. Ranga in Parliament, termed him a socialist par excellence.
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“It was Prof. Ranga who played a stellar role in bringing in the American model of MSP (minimum support price) for the farmers. He convinced both Rajaji (C. Rajagopalachari) and the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the MSP model,” he reminisced.
Mr. Sobhanadreeswara Rao, also informed the gathering the important role that Prof. Ranga had played in abolishing the zamindari system. “He was ahead of his time and was one among the pioneers to introduce technology in the farming sector,” he said.
CPI (M) Polit Bureau member B.V. Raghavulu said Prof. Ranga was the one who first recommended the name of Dr. Ambedkar in the drafting committee of the constitution.
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“Though being Oxford educated and set in a high profile government job, Prof. Ranga resigned to serve the farmers and he always advocated that farmers should be educated. He was also one among the firsts to voice the rights of the farmers in Parliament,” said Mr. Raghavulu in his address.
K. Narayana of CPI said that Prof. Ranga would have been pained to see the farmers committing suicide in the present day.