Soon after former chief minister and YCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy visited Guntur chilli yard and while meeting the farmers alleged that not a single farmer is happy in the coalition government, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu wrote a letter to the Center on the plight of chilli farmers in AP.
The CM wrote a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asking the Center to immediately purchase chilli. He requested that chilli be purchased immediately under the Market Intervention Scheme. The letter mentioned the details of the meeting held in Delhi on the 14th of this month on the condition of chilli farmers and the fall in prices in the market.
He explained that the state government had also submitted proposals immediately. In view of the state’s financial situation, the CM requested that the Center bear the entire expenditure under the Market Intervention Scheme. He said that this year the chilli area has increased and production is also high.
Chandrababu said that while a quintal of special variety chilli used to cost Rs 20,000 in the past, today its price has fallen to Rs 13,000. He explained that a quintal of regular chilli has fallen to Rs 11,000. He revealed that this situation has arisen due to a decrease in exports to many countries. He said that farmers are suffering severe financial losses due to the fall in prices.
Meanwhile, TDP started attacking Jaganmohan Reddy for visiting Chilli Yard, violating election code and showing sympathies towards chilli farmers. They are recalling how chilli farmers were treated badly during the YSRCP regime.
They said that the previous government issued a GO on January 9, 2020 deciding the minimum support price (MSP) of chilli at Rs 7,000. But when the prices fell drastically, the then government did not purchase it after the issuance of this GO. The then government had stated in the GO that if prices fell below the MSP, they would purchase under the price stabilization fund.
Though the YSRCP promised in its election manifesto to create a price stabilization fund, practically there was no money allocated for such a fund. Farmers and leaders had protested during the Jagan government’s tenure over the minimum support price being set at Rs 7,000 per quintal. TDP leaders and farmers are expressing anger that the decisions made then have been forgotten, but now how can Jagan face farmers?