Praja Sankalpa Yatra Diary Day 117: TDP Vultures Prey On Rice Meant For The Poor

Polireddypalem, Guntur district: This morning on my Padayatra, the sarpanch of the village of Manukonduvari Palem, Dayamma, and deputy sarpanch Seenanna, gave me a rousing reception.The warm welcome accorded to me in the scorching summer heat had to be seen to be believed. I was deeply touched by the love and the affection showered upon me by the people here. Dayamma said, “Anna, on one pretext or the other, they deny rice which is given through ration shops, to us. Often they say that the fingerprints are not being recorded. They give other excuses as well. How can the poor survive, even if rice is not given through the public distribution system which is in place?”

Seenanna added, “Anna, no matter where, which corner of the state, rice from ration shops is seized, it is traced to Chilakaluripeta.” While the higher-ups in the government use their proxies to transport rice worth crores of rupees illegally, their followers at the lower levels prey on local ration shops for their unlawful income. These vultures deny the poor man his rightful morsel of rice, his staple diet for survival.

On the pretext of fingerprints not getting recorded, Chandrababu Naidu’s high-tech rule uses proxies to further the illegal transport of rice. This is the application that technology is put to under the TDP rule. What do you call such vultures? Isn’t Chandrababu Naidu aware of the illegal activities of his proxies? Or, being fully aware of them, is he a partner as well? The story does not end here—“This is the hub of a variety of spurious material which farmers depend on—pesticides, fertilisers and seeds,” Seenanna told me.

It is a huge fake industry which is ruining agriculture, he pointed out. The losses which farmers have sustained in agriculture have led many of them to commit suicides. What does Babu have to say about the corrupt practices of his partymen who conduct their business over the dead bodies of farmers? The edifice of corruption that they raise stands on the graves of poor farmers.

Any welfare scheme is aimed at benefiting society and the poor in particular. In contrast, under Chandrababu, it appears as if every single scheme is drawn up to benefit the yellow-shirted TDP cadre. Take the case of “Neeru-Chettu.” Tirupathiah told me that land which had been registered in the names of the poor who had Pattadar passbooks to this effect, was being snatched away from them fudging decades-old records. The villagers of Tubadu and Gorijavolu had a similar tale to narrate.

Land belonging to dalits and minorities was grabbed from them under “Neeru-Chettu” scheme. Their fields fell prey to the TDP cadre. This is land that they had owned for five decades with all the relevant documentary proof including pattadar passbooks. This is where they cultivated crops on which these poorest of the poor survived. They have now fallen victim to the greed of the ruling party members who are making crores of rupees out of such activities. Such examples highlight the manner in which the “Neeru-Chettu” scheme is being used to line the pockets of TDP men.

I have a question for the chief minister—your manifesto claimed that you would crack down on corruption in the public distribution system and check the black marketing of essential commodities? What happened to your tall claims? Do your assurances have any value, or are they meant only to deceive the common poor?