Amaravati, Nov 23 (LatestNewsX) – YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the president of the YSR Congress Party and former chief minister, accused N. Chandrababu Naidu of wreaking havoc on farmers during his eighteen‑month tenure. He claimed the ruling period saw a historic plunge in crop prices that left farmers in desperate straits.
According to Reddy, the collapse of prices for staples such as paddy, maize, banana, coconut, cotton, pulses, millets, chilli, tobacco, onion, tomato, cocoa, sugarcane, and mango, among others, has pushed many farmers into a crisis of such severity that they’re forced to consume their own produce because the state offers no help.
Reddy said Naidu prefers to distract the public with flashy events like “Raitanna‑Meekosam” and to convince farmers that they’re to blame for their suffering, rather than acknowledging the problem he allegedly created. This was posted on his X feed.
The chief minister has announced that he will take an active part in the “Raitanna‑Meekosam” outreach programme that will run from 24 November to 29 November, and again on 3 December.
Reddy questioned how Naidu can shell out crores on three chartered flights, six helicopters, trips abroad, weekend getaways to Hyderabad, political vendetta cases, costly legal counsel, paid propaganda, and a yellow‑mediated network, while refusing to release even a modest sum to relief farmers.
He mocked the administration’s self‑promotion efforts, such as a teleconference with 10,000 people, and asked why the chief minister can’t simply call a group of collectors to earmark funds for fair pricing. Despite relentless price swings over the last year and a half, the government has not allocated a single rupee to stabilise prices, according to Reddy.
The YSR CP pointed out that Andhra Pradesh has endured nearly 16 natural disasters, yet Naidu has never offered input subsidies, compensation, or a personal response to farmers’ hardships. Instead of supporting those demanding justice or leaders visiting them, the administration reportedly filed false cases to silence dissent.
Reddy said that while the government loudly announces programmes, rarely anything follows through—examples include chilli, tobacco, mango, and onion farmers who saw promises turned into empty rhetoric.
Free provisions such as crop insurance, RBKs, e‑Crop, CMAPP, and doorstep procurement—initiatives introduced during the YSR CP rule—have been dismantled under Naidu’s leadership, thereby stripping farmers of the safety nets earlier provided.
With the elimination of free crop insurance, the state has no clarity on compensating the hundreds of thousands of farmers hit by cyclones and other disasters who fall outside any coverage, nor has it declared a timetable for payouts.
Reddy noted that the government still owes Rs 600 crore for pending input subsidies and has not clarified when farmers affected by the latest storm will receive relief.
Naidu had promised Rs 20,000 per year under Annadata Sukhibhava in addition to PM‑Kisan, yet over two years he has delivered only Rs 10,000 out of an assured Rs 40,000. The situation has deteriorated to the point where farmers are compelled to buy fertilizer from the black market and rely on middlemen to survive, the party leader added.
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