VIJAYAWADA
While claiming that the crop holiday purportedly declared by farmers in Konaseema was nothing but Goebbels’ campaign unleashed by the Telugu Desam Party, Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy on Thursday said the State government had written to the Central government requesting it to implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission on the Minimum Support Price.
Mr. Govardhan Reddy said the State received copious rains and reservoirs were brimming with water ever since Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took charge as Chief Minister, due to which not even a single mandal was declared as drought-hit. That being the case, where was the scope for crop holiday, he questioned.
Addressing mediapersons at the Secretariat, Mr. Govardhan Reddy said farmers had declared crop holiday during the TDP regime because of the crisis which plagued them. Now, the TDP was trying to malign the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) by sending across a wrong message that the farmers had no other no other option but to announce a crop holiday.
YSR Yantra Seva
Mr. Govardhan Reddy expressed regret that the TDP leaders were making baseless allegations with regard to the YSR Yantra Seva scheme. In fact, the TDP leaders had taken hefty commissions in the implementation of the Rythu Radham scheme by imposing the condition that the farmers had to buy tractors manufactured by a particular company and at specific places. The price of tractors was fixed (when TDP was in power) at ₹6 lakh-a-unit against the market price of ₹5 lakh, he alleged. Also, farmers were left with no choice in purchasing harvesters, rotavators. etc., he claimed.
In contrast, the YSRCP government gave farmers the freedom to choose from among 175 models (various specifications and different tools) and directly credited the subsidy (40%) amounts into their bank accounts. So far, 4,000 tractors were distributed to farmers in a transparent manner, the Minister said.
The Minister said the government has spent over ₹3 lakh crore on various schemes related to the farmers in the last three years and the Rythu Bharosa Kendras were helpful to the farmers not only in procuring farm inputs but also in acquiring the technical knowhow. He urged the farmers not to be carried away by the Opposition parties’ misinformation campaign.
