Hyderabad, May 19: BJP senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu has lashed out at the Central and state governments for not addressing farmers’ problems.
He also said if they do not find a solution, they should be ready to face the wrath of the farming community.
Speaking at the Maha Dharna organised by the BJP Kisan Morcha at the Indira park on Wednesday, the BJP leader described chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s Rythu Chaitanya Yatra as a “big joke”.
He added that even after the reverses in Kadapa by-elections, the Congress was not looking to address farmers’ problems.
He alleged that Congress was engaging in double standards on the farmers’ issue.
“On one side they are starting agitations for farmers in UP while on the other hand, the states where the party is in power, the governments are totally neglecting farmers,” Naidu observed.
The BJP leader said for the last several years the Central government has not implemented any measures including MS Swaminathan recommendations to address farmers’ problems.
“Several committees have recommended increasing the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy but the government has still not taken any decision. In spite of repeated requests the Centre has not given permission to export rice, with demand increasing day-by-day in international market. The government’s arrogance is astonishing,” Naidu alleged.
He also said the Centre had said in 2010 that they would release Rs 618 crore to 40 lakh farmers who lost their crops due natural calamities but it has still not released a single rupee.
He recalled the chief minister’s statement in the Assembly on December 17, 2010 about providing input subsidy but till now it has not been distributed to farmers.
BJP Kisan Morcha president J Sham Kishore said the y would intensify its agitations if the government failed to fulfil their demands.
–Agencies