Tadepalli, May 14: Farmers from Mamillapalli village in Ponnur mandal, along with Ponnur YSRCP in-charge Ambati Murali Krishna, addressed the media after meeting former Chief Minister and YSRCP President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the party central office in here on Thursday. They alleged that false cases were foisted against farmers at the instigation of Ponnur MLA Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar after TDP leaders attacked a godown where maize crop had been stored due to lack of remunerative prices.
Ambati Murali Krishna said TDP leaders had initially vandalized the shed belonging to farmer Soda Samudrayya, after which, under the alleged influence of MLA Narendra Kumar, police booked 14 farmers under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. He stated that all the accused belonged to the Kapu community, including five women, and accused TDP leaders of using a habitual drunkard auto driver to file a false complaint. He said the affected families met YS Jagan after being unable to withstand continuous harassment and that YS Jagan directed the party legal cell to fight the case legally and instructed senior party leaders to visit the village. Murali Krishna said YS Jagan assured full support to the affected farmers and declared that YSRCP would continue the struggle until the seized maize stock was returned to them.
Farmer Ambati Lakshmi said the maize stored in the shed belonged to local farmers and was kept safely to avoid rain damage until market prices improved. She said her husband was a heart patient and the family hoped to sell the crop for medical treatment expenses. Instead, she alleged that TDP activists assaulted even women farmers, pushed them aside, and illegally sealed the stock, which is now getting damaged and infested. She questioned why farmers were being denied the right to store crops grown through their own labour and said they were unable to eat properly for the past week due to fear and distress. She added that YS Jagan gave them confidence and assured support.
Another farmer, Ambati Parvathi, alleged that the families were being targeted only because they were relatives of Ambati Murali Krishna. She accused TDP leaders of unleashing rowdies on farmers and later filing cases against the victims themselves. Ambati Venkateswara Rao said there was not even a single SC individual present during the incident, yet atrocity cases were registered against 14 Kapu farmers. He maintained that the farmers merely pleaded with officials to return their grain and had not behaved aggressively with anyone. He accused the ruling party of political vendetta against farmers supporting YSRCP and condemned the attack on the godown owned by farmer Samudrayya.
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