The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Manmohan ignored farmers’ team from A.P., says Naidu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 25, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Manmohan ignored farmers’ team from A.P., says Naidu

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for ignoring a delegation of Members of Parliament from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which has been seeking an appointment for over a fortnight to discuss the plight of farmers.

After repeated requests drew no response, the delegation, under the leadership of Mr. Naidu, stayed on in the capital for two days in the hope of an appointment. With no response — “not even an acknowledgement of our several requests” — forthcoming from the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Naidu told journalists that this was not the end of the road.

“The Prime Minister can ignore us, but he cannot turn his back to the issue we want to raise. We will open the people’s eyes to the fact that the Prime Minister refused to meet a delegation of elected representatives who wanted to seek his intervention in addressing the problems faced by paddy cultivators,” Mr. Naidu said before leaving for Hyderabad. “He has not only insulted elected representatives of the people, but the entire farming community as well.”

Critical of the manner in which the delegation was ignored, the TDP president — who on Tuesday night was designated convener of the United National Progressive Alliance — said: “What is the Prime Minister so busy with? I wrote to him on October 10 and followed it up with two letters but till date have not received even an acknowledgement from the PMO. This is not the way people in office should conduct themselves.”

Leader of the TDP in the Lok Sabha K. Yerrannaidu said his party would raise this issue in Parliament first thing when it met for the winter session.

Meanwhile, the delegation met Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and urged him to bring the minimum support price for paddy on a par with that of wheat.

Also, the TDP has sought his intervention in lifting the ban on export of non-basmati rice as a result of which its price has fallen further, adding to the plight of paddy farmers.

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