‘Raitannaa mee kosam’ is a Farmers’ deception programme : Karumuri

Tadepalli, Dec 3: YSRCP regional coordinator and former minister Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao sharply criticized the Chandrababu-led coalition government, stating that Andhra Pradesh’s farmers are facing the worst crisis in recent history. Speaking at the YSRCP central office in Tadepalli, he said that while farmers’ yards are filled with unsold paddy, their eyes are filled with despair. He condemned the government’s so-called “Raitanna Mee Kosam” programme as a publicity stunt designed only for optics, run with party workers wrapped in green shawls, rather than a genuine outreach to farmers. He said the programme is nothing but a “farmers’ deception campaign,” resembling a film shoot organised with crores of public money misused for propaganda.
Karumuri questioned why ministers were not meeting farmers directly when crops across the state were failing to fetch even minimum support price. He said paddy that should receive Rs. 1,770 is being sold at Rs. 1,200–Rs. 1,300 to middlemen, turning the state into a “broker raj.” Unlike under Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government, where MSP, gunny bags, hamali charges, transportation, insurance, zero-interest loans, and input subsidies were fully ensured, the present government has abandoned farmers, offering no reviews, no compensation, and not even acknowledging their suffering. He said the Chief Minister is busy delivering speeches in function halls instead of visiting fields where farmers are collapsing under losses caused by heavy rains and cyclones.
The former minister noted that banana farmers are forced to sell produce at 50 paise per kg while consumers pay Rs. 50 per kg, benefitting only middlemen while the government remains a silent spectator. He recalled that the YSRCP government once purchased a banana crop directly and shipped it to West Bengal to stabilize prices, showing true pro-farmer governance. In contrast, Chandrababu’s government has not provided input subsidy, has not cleared Rs. 600 crore pending dues, and has not paid a single rupee compensation for crop damage due to recent cyclones. He said the coalition government has broken every promise, pushed farmers towards debt, and added Rs. 2.66 lakh crore to the state’s burden under the so-called “Sampada Srishti.”
Karumuri demanded immediate government intervention to ensure MSP for all crops and to arrange seeds and fertilizers well in advance for the upcoming season. Responding to media questions, he said that during the YSRCP tenure all procurement dues were cleared on time, whereas today farmers are on the brink of collapse with no relief in sight. He dismissed the Deputy Chief Minister’s statements on coconut crop damage, stating that ONGC dredging had caused soil sinking, and asked why the government failed to provide insurance or compensation when it deliberately avoided e-crop registration and premium payment. He concluded that if the government had spent even a fraction of its publicity budget on farmers, the suffering of the annadatas could have been prevented.