AP Govt Committed to Farmers' Welfare, Says AP Agriculture Minister

Amaravati: Reiterating that the state government is committed to the welfare of the farmers and agriculture sector, Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannababu slammed Opposition Chief Chandrababu Naidu and his son Nara Lokesh for misleading farmers by spreading false information on the occasion of National Farmers Day.

Speaking to media here on Thursday, the Minister said Naidu who has neglected Agriculture during his regime, has been shedding crocodile tears for farmers only to gain political mileage. He said the state government has been supporting farmers from supplying seeds to procurement of crop produce and the Agriculture growth rate of Andhra Pradesh has been leading compared to national average growth rate. Condemning the allegations of Naidu on farmers suicides, the Minister said there is no need for the state government to conceal the suicides of the farmers.

The Minister said the state government has credited Rs 90,000 crore into the accounts of farmers directly for the last two years and reminded that while the previous government has spent only Rs 43,000 crore  in its five years for paddy procurement, the present government has spent almost Rs 32,000 for the same in last two and half years. He listed out the welfare activities being implemented by the state government for the welfare of the farmers and agriculture sector.

The Minister slammed Nara Lokesh for making provoking comments and said noone is deady to fear for his threatening and added that  it was during TDP regime, all the government systems were misused. In regard to movie tickets, the Minister rubbished actor Nani comments and asserted that it's the responsibility of the state government to regulate the prices of movie tickets. He questioned how is it an insult to audience if ticket prices are lowered.