Farmers in Andhra Pradesh, supported by the Opposition parties, took to the streets on Wednesday, demanding increase of the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy, maize, groundnut, sugarcane and cotton.
Farmers in Andhra Pradesh, supported by the Opposition parties, took to the streets on Wednesday, demanding increase of the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy, maize, groundnut, sugarcane and cotton.
Led by political leaders, farmers and activists organised rail and rasta roko across the state, resulting in disruption of train and road transport services.
Trains were held up for a few hours at Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Warangal, Kazipet and Guntur railway stations as people squatted on the tracks to bring their plight to notice. Police intervened to remove the protesters physically and restored the services. Several leaders were arrested and later released.
The issue of bringing MSP for paddy at par with wheat to Rs 1000 has snow-balled into an agitation and forced the state government to sit up and take cognisance especially since the Opposition parties had joined hands to “protect farmers’ interests.”
The government fell in line with the Opposition’s demand and a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday supported Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s suggestion to lead a delegation to the prime minister and Mrs Sonia Gandhi next week.
However, Telugu Desam Party President N. Chandrababu Naidu was a step ahead and met Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday in New Delhi seeking ‘equity’ in MSP for paddy. Mr. Naidu has also sought an appointment with the PM which has worried the YSR government that TDP might gain politically by portraying itself as “farmers’ friend,” thereby snatching away the title which is the prerogative of the CM.
The Cabinet therefore, took up the issue with a sense of emergency and at a meeting resolved to press for the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendation that the MSP for agricultural commodities should be at least 50 per cent more than the weighted average cost of production.
The CM has pointed out that he was the first one to take the initiative to rope in the CMs of West Bengal, UP and Tamil Nadu, all major paddy growers, to pressurise the Centre on the issue.
He also added that it was the UPA government that had increased paddy MSP by Rs 150.
