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Civilian Supplies Minister Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao claimed on Saturday that TDP National President N. Chandrababu Naidu incorrectly claimed that payments to farmers for the purchase of paddy were made within 48 hours when he was chief minister.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Venkateswara Rao said the YSRCP government has authorized more than 960 crore for the purchase of paddy which is being held on hold by the TDP government.
Within three months of coming to power, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had ensured the payment of 4,000 crore in contributions to farmers, the minister said. By the time Naidu wrote a letter to the chief minister on pending payments, central and state governments had already purchased 28 lakh tonnes of paddy and paid out 1,637 crore to farmers, the minister said.
As per the chief minister’s instructions, payments were made to farmers within 21 days of purchasing the crop, he said, adding that 1,619 crore was pending disbursement so far.
Despite the delay in clearing 3,229 crore of arrears by the Center, the state government has paid farmers’ contributions from the treasury, the minister said.
Mr Naidu had betrayed the farmers by breaking his promise in the run-up to the 2014 election that he would forgo 85,000 crore in agricultural loans, he claimed. Mr. Naidu has not even paid 20% of the amount pledged during his five-year tenure, the minister alleged.
Referring to N. Lokesh’s allegation that the Chief Minister was vindictive to opposition leaders, Mr. Venkateswara Rao warned him against any criticism of the Chief Minister.
Stating that many YSRCP leaders were killed during the TDP’s tenure, the minister said it was not appropriate to attribute such incidents to the government.
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