Setting the record straight that he had never dubbed farming as a “sheer waste”, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu wooed the farmers by promising loan waiver and free power for nine hours to revitalise farm pump sets.
Speaking after distributing dividend cheques to Ongole dairy farmers, workers and sales agents for Rs.1.25 crore, he asserted that he had suggested farmers to take up pisciculture, poultry rearing and dairy farming. “Farmers’ children should also be able to get higher education and make their mark in all fields,” he added.
“I understand the plight of the farmers as I too hail from a farming family and will not rest until farming is made profitable. The first thing I will do as soon as coming to power is to waive farm loans including those secured pledging gold,” he said amid loud cheers from the farmers.
Taking credit for women being in the forefront in leading Self Help Groups (SHG), he said the Deepam scheme, which he had launched to free women from drudgery, was shelved by the ruling Congress.
At Tangutur, Mr. Naidu urged the Centre not to go ahead with the State bifurcation without amicably resolving all the contentious issues.
Speaking after unveiling the statue of party founder N.T. R, he admitted that he had asked the Centre to resolve the Telangana issue in 2008. “Instead of resolving one issue, the Centre has created many and because of the Congress party’s desperation to come to power, the Telugu people are at loggerheads now,” he lamented.
He said one of the aims of his yatra was to expose the Congress game plan to win 2014 general elections.
