The members of farm workers’ unions staged a demonstration on Thursday, in protest against the alleged ‘anti-poor policies’ of the Union and State governments.
Activists of the All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) and Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union (BKMU) came in a procession to the busy Church Centre and raised slogans against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and the YSRCP government in the State.
Heavy taxes imposed by the Centre and State governments have made the lives of common people including farmers miserable, they said.
All essential commodities including petrol, diesel and cooking gas have gone beyond the reach of the poor, they complained, adding that they would continue their protest.
Referring to the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the protesters described it as a ‘publicity stunt’ by the BJP-led Central government.
Tenant farmers are in an unenviable position with the promised Crop Cultivator Rights Cards remaining elusive, said Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Workers’ Union Prakasam district secretary K. Anjaneyulu, who led the protest.
He alleged that farmers were denied institutional credit, subsidised farm inputs and compensation in case of crop loss due to natural calamities, said AIAWU district president N. Venkateswarlu.
Alleging that the Centre has diluted the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), BKMU district secretary R. Venkat Rao demanded a budgetary allocation of ₹2.40 lakh crore for the scheme to provide a wage of ₹500 per day for 290 days to the workers.
