Convince Centre on foodgrains procurement: Niranjan Reddy
The Hindu
‘Bandi, Kishan should resign if they fail to do so’
Agriculture Minister S. Niranjan Reddy has criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for its attempts to politicise foodgrains procurement. He demanded that the saffron party State leaders convince the Central Government and get assurance that it would purchase the foodgrains produced by farmers if they were committed to the farmers’ cause.
The Minister accused the BJP of indulging in “third class politics” to hoodwink people and gain mileage in the Huzurabad byelection slated for October 30. “The BJP leaders should stage dharnas to mount pressure on the Centre to procure the foodgrains produced in the State,” he said.
He dared the BJP leaders, especially its State president Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, to resign if they failed to convince the Centre on procurement of foodgrains from farmers. The Minister said he would quit his post if his charges against the Centre, which was indulging in “double speak” when it came to procurement of food grain, were proved wrong.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.