BJP, TDP responsible for farmers' suicides: Sonia

Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, Sep 27: AICC Chief and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said the policies pursued by the previous BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre and the TDP Government in Andhra Pradesh were responsible for the pathetic condition of the agriculture sector and suicides of farmers.

Addressing a mammoth public meeting after unveiling the statue of former Chief Minister and Union Minister Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy and inaugurating Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Memorial Park here, Ms Gandhi said the UPA Government at the Centre and the Congress Government in the State gave special attention to the problems faced by the farming sector.

She said the Government had taken steps to increase agriculture credit and reduce interest rates on loans given by commercial banks.

Lauding the performance of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, she said the State stood in the forefront in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarentee Programme (NREGP) and other states should emulate its example.

She said to attend to the needs of the poorest of the poor, the Centre had launched the NREGP, under which the Government provided employment for 100 days.

Ms Sonia said, of the 200 districts selected for the implementation of the scheme on a pilot basis, 13 were deriving the benefits in the State. When more districts were included in the scheme, the drought hit Kurnool, would also be benefited, she added.

Lauding the Jala Yagnam (irrigation initiative) taken up by the State Government, she said 73 lakh acres of land would be brought under cultivation at a cost of Rs 60,000 crore. Ms Sonia said the Centre would render all possible help for the state to complete this ambitious project and added that the Telugu Ganga project, would also be completed in three years, providing irrigation facility to Kadapa, Kurnool and Chittoor districts.

She said because of the pro-farmer steps taken up by the Congress Government in the State, suicides of farmers had gone down remarkably.

Ms Gandhi also lauded the INDIRAMMA programme taken up by the State Government to provide all basic amenities in the villages and said that she was happy to know that the project was named after Indira Gandhi, who was fond of the people of Andhra Pradesh.

She said the Congress was making every effort to fulfill all the promises it made to the electorate in its election manifesto and had launched programmes like Bharat Nirman, National Rural Mission, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, National Horticulture Mission and National Health Mission, among other welfare schemes.

Ms Gandhi wished the women of Andhra Pradesh well as they had set up a path-blazing example to the rest of the country through their Self Help Groups (SHG).

UNI

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