Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary, Day 76: TDP Rule: Andhra Pradesh Under Chandra Grahanam

Podulakooru, Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district: This morning as I proceeded through the Sarvepalli constituency, hundreds of people came to meet me at every step, and all of them had one thing to say—that my father, the late Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy, served the state with a spirit of total dedication for which he will always be remembered. To think that they still remember the good work done by my father after all these years was indeed very gratifying. In his nine years of rule, all that Chandrababu Naidu did was to break a coconut to mark the inauguration of the Krishnapatnam port. Not a single brick was laid during his tenure.

In contrast, my father, the late Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy, completed all aspects of the Krishnapatnam port with single-minded dedication. The result is there for all to see. Today the place has been transformed completely and is a hub of industrial activity. This is the principal difference between a leader who walks the talk and serves the people with single-minded devotion, as opposed to a leader who builds castles in the air and deceives people with false promises.

Near Inakurthi, I met a group of lemon farmers who narrated their troubles to me. Their plight moved me deeply—unable to sell them for a minimum profit, with no help forthcoming from the government, lemons lay in heaps by the roads. They could not sell them for a loss and much against their will, dumped the fruits of their labour by the roads. Many of them left the lemon fruits to wither and dry on the trees, because of the prohibitive cost of labour. It was indeed a very painful sight to behold. This region is renowned all over the country for lemon farming.

To say that, under the Chandrababu Naidu government, the condition of the farmers is pathetic is an understatement. They cannot sell a lemon for 30 paise, whereas Heritage supermarkets sell each lemon for 4 to 5 rupees! In Podalakuru, victims of Siri Gold approached me and told me that many of them had been duped by this organisation. Some of them had invested their hard earned money and savings and others had also enrolled other members. They said that they had been running from pillar to post seeking help from government officials, but to no avail. It appeared as if suicide was the only option left for them, they lamented.

Chandrababu Naidu had declared that he would set up special courts to ensure that justice is done to such victims. Whatever happened to his tall claims? What has come of all his empty boasts? In all these years have their pleas not reached him? Agri Gold, Akshaya Gold, Siri Gold and many others—the list is long and the victims are invariably the poor. Again, the common denominator is the TDP government. All these scams happened under the watch of the TDP government. I assured all of them that Rajanna Rajyam is round the corner and that their problems will be certainly resolved.

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I recalled what Penchalaiah, a poor man on the street had said—“Sir, the state of Andhra Pradesh has come under Chandra Grahanam (total lunar eclipse) referring to Chandrababu’s rule. These words continued to ring in my ears for a long time.

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In conclusion, I have a question for the Chief Minister—during my father, the late Dr. YSR’s tenure, farmers could sell their produce at a reasonable price and the government lent them active support to ensure this. Each time you come to power, why is it that farmers are put to untold suffering? Aren’t your policies clearly anti-farmer?