The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : "Utilise visit for people's good"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

"Utilise visit for people's good"

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MARCH 15. A Telugu Desam member, P. Keshav, on Tuesday made repeated references to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, in the Assembly on Tuesday, both positive and negative, on the eve of her visit here tomorrow.

Participating in the debate on drought conditions in the State , Mr Keshav said the Congress was organising her visit as if celebrating its electoral victory in the State and asked leaders of that party to use the occasion for seeking her blessings on different fronts.

He recalled that the Food Assurance Programme which was launched by the Prime Minister in Ranga Reddy district, covered only eight districts and wanted these leaders to impress upon her the need to bring the entire state under the programme in view of the drought.

On the negative side, the TD member stated that many farmers were still resorting to suicide but Ms. Sonia Gandhi was not coming to console them.

Plight of ryots

Her concern for farmers was such that she spent hardly two hours in Anantapur district during a pre-poll visit. She had distributed party cheques, each worth Rs. 22,000, to 90 families affected by the farmers' suicides, he said, asking: "What about others?" He said he was expecting some announcements by her tomorrow on the plight of the farmers here.

Mr. Keshav highlighted the misery of people in different districts on account of drought, referring to migration of labour, drying up of crops and the harassment of farmers by cooperative banks for recovery of loans. Migration of families was such that a bus filled with "Palamur labour" had left for Mumbai only the other day from Mahabubnagar.

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