Andhra Congress leaders meet PM, Sonia Gandhi to express concern over farmers’ plight

NEW DELHI - A delegation of Congress MLAs from Andhra Pradesh met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi here on Wednesday to convey the plight of farmers in their region.

Headed by Union Minister of Urban Development, S Jaipal Reddy, the delegation also included Union Member of Parliament (MP) V Hanumantha Rao.

Interacting with mediapersons, Jaipal Reddy said the Prime Minister gave a patient hearing and also positive response to their submission.

“We have discussed about the critical situation in Andhra Pradesh with them. Prime Minister listened to the whole issue very nicely and reacted well on it. He immediately sanctioned an advance of rupees 400 crores from the National Calamity Fund,” said Reddy.

Currently, former MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is on his 48-hour ‘Lakshya Deeksha’, hunger strike for farmers, on the banks of river Krishna.

He has launched the hunger-strike demanding adequate compensation to farmers who lost their crops in heavy rains early this month in the state.

Terming Jagan’s hunger strike as a silly political gimmick, V Hanumantha Rao said: “See the first thing is that someone (Y S Jaganmohan Reddy) who has left from our party and his father had taken undue advantage of Congress. Today if he talks about farmers benefit by sitting on a two-day hunger strike, then according to me this lip sympathy will not work.”

Rao further said instead of opting for free publicity, Jagan Mohan Reddy should donate some money from his funds for the poor.

“Today he has made allegations against Sonia Gandhi and that Congress party will be finished by the year 2014 and Congress high command won’t be there. In my opinion, it is anti-party activity and High Command should take serious actions against him,” he added. (ANI)