TDP failed to keep promises: YSRCP

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government came in for sharp criticism from the Opposition YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Tuesday for not living up to its promises and making meagre allocation to the farm sector.

Says government is covering up its failures

Participating in a debate on agricultural demands, YSRCP MLA Y Visweswara Reddy said the government was trying to cover up its failure in making proper allocations by indulging in gimmicks like presenting special agriculture budget. Quoting extensively from the government reports, the YSRCP MLA claimed that the overall growth rate in agriculture sector, both in productivity and production fronts, was better during the Congress regime led by late YS Rajasekhara Reddy.

He said even the yield rates and overall contribution of the agriculture sector to the GSDP was higher between 2004 and 2009.
He alleged that the TDP continued to be an anti- farmer party. Reddy said though the government had come up with Rs 13,000 crore special agriculture budget, the proposals mostly pertained to Centre-sponsored schemes. In real terms, the government would be left with a meagre sum of Rs 3,435 crore, he said. He demanded that the State government implement a special package mooted by the Centre for the development of agriculture sector in rain-starved Anantapur district.

Intervening the discussion, Agriculture Minister P Pulla Rao refuted the charge made by the YSRCP members and said the number of suicides by farmers was high during Rajasekhara Reddy regime.