*‘Annadata Sukhibhava’ has become ‘Chandrababu Dukhibhava’: Vidadala Rajini*

Chilakaluripet, June 20: Former Minister Vidadala Rajini said the Annadata Sukhibhava scheme has turned into “Chandrababu Dukhibhava”, charging that the coalition government has betrayed farmers by failing to honour its election promises. Addressing the media in Chilakaluripet, she questioned why the government is not implementing its Super Six promise of providing Rs.20,000 annually independent of Central assistance, which would amount to Rs.26,000 per farmer including PM-Kisan support. She said the government skipped payments in the first year and limited assistance thereafter, leaving every farmer with Rs.32,000 in pending dues over three years, while excluding nearly seven lakh farmers from the scheme.

Rajini stated that during the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government, 53.58 lakh farmers, including tenant farmers, received Rs.13,500 annually, amounting to Rs.67,500 over five years under the saturation model. In contrast, she said the present government has drastically reduced beneficiaries, citing Palnadu district where beneficiaries fell from 2.80 lakh to 2.40 lakh, exposing large-scale cuts in farmer welfare.

She said the government has failed to provide remunerative prices for tobacco, mango, aqua, bengal gram and maize crops while ignoring mounting farmer distress and suicides. Instead of monitoring the reasons behind farmer suicides, she said the government is focusing on publicity through real-time governance claims without addressing ground realities.

Rajini further said the coalition government dismantled the agricultural support ecosystem created under the previous government, including Rythu Bharosa Kendras, price stabilisation measures and farmer assistance mechanisms. She criticised the app-based urea distribution system, stating that small and poor farmers cannot be expected to purchase smartphones to access essential inputs. She urged the government to at least continue the farmer-centric policies introduced under Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy instead of weakening agricultural welfare and leaving farmers in deeper distress.