The opposition leader in Andhra Pradesh's legislative council, Botsa Satyanarayana, has launched a scathing attack on the state's NDA government, alleging that farmers and agricultural labourers are enduring their most severe crisis in recent memory. He made these serious allegations during a press conference held in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Collapse of Agricultural Support
Satyanarayana stated unequivocally that the agricultural sector has completely collapsed under the current administration. He accused the TDP-led government of failing to provide a minimum support price (MSP) for any crop, leaving farmers in financial distress. The former minister highlighted a critical shortage of urea, claiming that farmers have been unable to obtain even a single bag of this essential fertilizer.
In a stark contrast, he alleged that the same government is allocating valuable lands to real estate companies at throwaway prices. These allocations are reportedly happening without transparent open auction procedures, raising questions about governance and fairness.
Neglect of Tribal Regions and Welfare Schemes
The opposition leader extended his criticism to the government's handling of tribal welfare and social schemes. He claimed that tribal regions have been completely abandoned by the administration. According to his account, children and mothers are being denied nutritious food, and welfare hostels are being severely neglected.
Contaminated food and water in these hostels are causing sickness among students, Satyanarayana revealed, painting a grim picture of the conditions in government-run welfare institutions. He further criticized the government for merely renaming schemes that were originally introduced by the previous administration instead of launching new welfare programmes.
Constitutional Values and Development Claims Challenged
Satyanarayana also raised concerns about democratic norms, accusing the government of violating constitutional values by not inviting the Opposition leader to the Constitution Day programme. He challenged the government's development claims, particularly regarding the Bhogapuram international airport.
The credit for constructing Bhogapuram international airport belongs solely to the YSRCP, he asserted. The idea originally emerged during the tenure of former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, and the present CM N. Chandrababu Naidu failed to complete even the land acquisition between 2014 and 2019. Construction work actually began under former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's government after obtaining all necessary approvals.
Satyanarayana demanded immediate government measures to address the crisis, including providing urea to farmers, implementing MSP for all crops, and supplying nutritional support to tribal children and mothers. He emphasized that the administration should focus on helping farmers by opening procurement centres and ensuring fair support prices rather than what he described as land misuse.
