BJP State president Daggubati Purandeswari said the stabilisation of prices of agricultural crops and construction of cold storages in Andhra Pradesh found due mention in the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP)’s 2019 election manifesto but were confined to rhetoric as the State government had other priorities, and sought an explanation from Chief Minister and YSRCP supremo Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy over his ‘failure’ to deliver those promises.
Participating as the chief guest at the swearing-in ceremony of new office-bearers of the party’s Kisan Morcha on Monday, Ms. Purandeswari said the farmers were in deep distress due to drought and market fluctuations, but the government was hardly bothered by their plight.
The major and minor irrigation projects would be of immense help to the farmers but the tardy progress of their construction has left the farmers in the lurch, she said.
On the other hand, the Modi government’s policies ushered in a green revolution and the online National Agriculture Market helped the farmers in fetching remunerative prices for their crops.
BJP national secretary Y. Satya Kumar said Water Resources Minister Ambati Rambabu was being negligent in the implementation of irrigation projects and was instead devoting his time to criticising opposition parties. “The consequence of that is the farmers are unable to come out of the crisis that they are in,” Mr. Satya Kumar said.
“The Jagan Mohan Reddy government is not doing all it can for the betterment of the farm sector in spite of receiving phenomenal support from the Centre. This was because agriculture and farmers’ welfare are low on the ruling party’s agenda,” he added. Kisan Morcha national vice-president S. Jayasooryan, newly-appointed State president Chigurupati Kumara Swamy and others were present.
