The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Congress fails to bail out farmers: Dattatreya

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Friday, Oct 15, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Congress fails to bail out farmers: Dattatreya

By Our Staff Reporter

NELLORE, OCT. 14. The former Union Minister of State of Rural Development, Bandaru Dattatreya, has charged the Congress Government with failing to come to the rescue of farmers and accused the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, of still not coming to grips with core issues.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr. Dattatreya, who is heading the Bharatiya Janata Party's farmers' struggle committee to study the conditions of farmers in the State, expressed concern over the increasing suicide deaths by farmers and deprecated the tendency of concealing the number of deaths. He said that according to available information, more than 1,550 farmers committed suicide after the Congress Government assumed office. However, the Government is still contending that only 480 farmers resorted to suicide. But even here, there was no proper compensation for the victims, the BJP leader alleged.

Weavers' plight cited

Mr. Dattatreya said that apart from farmers, handloom weavers/workers also lived in pitiable conditions in the State and needed an urgent rescue package.

He ridiculed the recent visit of the Chief Minister to New Delhi and said that nothing tangible had emerged from the visit, except the announcement that a Central team would visit the State to study drought conditions on October 17. "Such announcements are supposed to be made by the Agriculture Minister," he pointed out.

Painting a grim picture on the farmers' fate in Nellore district, Mr Dattatreya said that not only for kharif but even for rabi they were denied water.

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