Kisan Congress, the farmers wing of All India Congress Committee, has alleged that the State government has been grossly neglecting the agriculture sector, a key driver of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, AICC Kisan Congress vice-president M. Kodanda Reddy and State president of Kisan Congress Anvesh Reddy accused Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of not keeping the promises made to the farming community, particularly to the sugarcane and turmeric farmers. They sought to know why Mr. Rao had deceived the sugarcane farmers on the promise of reviving the Nizam Sugar Factory.
Blaming both the Central and State governments for not establishing the turmeric board in the State after making the promise during the elections, the Congress leaders said Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao did not show any initiative in the matter and he did not even write a letter to the Centre in this regard. “A letter from the Chief Minister on the turmeric board issued would definitely have made a difference and both the Central and State government are shying away from the responsibility now,” Mr. Kodanda Reddy alleged.
They suggested that the Centre could at least include turmeric in the minimum support price list in case of any technicalities preventing it from establishing the turmeric board and requested the Chief Minister to write to the Centre to include the crop in the support price list. The Kisan Congress leaders further alleged that the BJP’s words on the turmeric board were limited only to score some politics points.
On withdrawal of subsidy on the farm equipment, Mr. Anvesh Reddy said it should be re-introduced to provide some relief to farmers, who could afford them, from the huge labour costs. He also criticised the Chief Minister for not keeping the election promise of implementing the farm loan waiver up to ₹1 lakh a farmer.
