AP CM neglecting farmers' welfare

Vijayawada, Nov 23 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy is neglecting the agricultural sector during his tenure and was not sincere about increasing the Minimum Support Price for paddy to Rs 1,000 per quintal, on par with wheat, senior TDP leader and former minister K Vidhyadhara Rao alleged today.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Rao alleged that during the TDP regime, farmers in the state had cultivated paddy in 42.95 lakh hectares, compared to 38.95 lakh hectares now.

He alleged that due to shortage of seeds and fertilisers, the farming community was facing lot of problems.

Referring to Chief Minister's remarks against the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) over misuse of funds in irrigation sector, he said TDP had already exposed the irrugularities and corruption of the project works.

Mr Rao demanded that the state government must put the files before the public and conduct an inquiry into misuse of public money.

UNI