Chandrababu abandoned farmers, turned disasters into PR: Kanna Babu

Kakinada, October 31: YSRCP North Andhra Regional Coordinator and former Minister Kurasala Kanna Babu accused Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of treating natural calamities as “festival time for publicity” while failing to support farmers devastated by Cyclone Montha. He said the Chief Minister scrapped the free crop insurance system, pushed farmers into distress, and sanctioned Rs. 200 crore for digital propaganda instead of relief. “At a time when farmers are crying in their fields, Chandrababu is celebrating in AC command rooms,” he remarked.

Kanna Babu said the YSRCP Government ensured dignity and protection for farmers through free universal crop insurance, e-Crop verification, input subsidy before the season ended, and government-paid premium. Under YSRCP, 84 lakh farmers were covered and Rs. 7,802 crore compensation was given to 54.55 lakh farmers. In 2024 alone, 84.80 lakh farmers covering 69.51 lakh acres received free insurance cover. Under the current government, free insurance was scrapped, no premium was paid for two years, and only bank-loan farmers were covered, reducing coverage to just 9.93 lakh farmers in 2024–25, and only 7.65 lakh eligible for claims. Now only 19 lakh acres are insured. “What about the remaining farmers? Who will save them?” he asked.
He charged that instead of visiting fields, Chandrababu staged an “RTGS media show,” sitting before computer screens and drone feeds as if running a space mission. “Real governance is standing with farmers, not acting like an ISRO scientist in an AC room while farmers wade through flood-hit fields,” he said.
Kanna Babu called the government’s loss estimation suspicious, noting the state reported Rs. 5,265.51 crore damage, but bizarrely claimed only Rs. 829 crore crop loss, Rs. 1,270 crore aqua loss, and just Rs. 8 crore damage under Panchayat Raj. “Did village roads, drains, irrigation canals escape the cyclone? Is this underreporting to deny compensation?” he asked.
He contrasted Telangana’s approach, which recognised 4.5 lakh acres damaged and announced Rs. 10,000 per acre with disbursement ready, while AP hasn’t announced even one rupee. He said TDP once demanded Rs. 25,000 per acre compensation, but now won’t commit to any figure. “Under Chandrababu, propaganda is peak and performance is zero. Farmers need justice, not advertisements,” he said, demanding immediate compensation, restoration of free crop insurance, and transparent loss assessment.