Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Reddy and former state CM Chandrababu Naidu engaged in yet another war of words in assembly on Monday when the two began arguing over onion prices and the Heritage Fresh group.
“The reason that people are standing in queues at farmer’s markets today is because onions are sold for 25 rupees per kg, outside in his (indicating CBN) Heritage shops even when they are selling for 200 rupees per kg., [people] believe that we will sell for 25 rupees per kg, and that is why there are queues,” said Jagan speaking about the state’s Rythu Bazaar initiative.
Responding to this, Chandra Babu Naidu issued a ‘challenge’ to Jagan Reddy in front of the Speaker.
“I had stated just yesterday that Heritage Fresh is not ours, we have sold it. Mr Chief Minister if you can prove that it belongs to me, I will resign as MLA and as the leader of the opposition, however if you fail to do so, then you should remember that you are not fit to be Chief Minister,” he exclaimed.
The Heritage group was founded by Naidu in 1992 and is present in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha and Delhi. Naidu's wife Nara Bhuvaneswari, son Nara Lokesh and daughter-in-law Nara Bramhini, were part of the board of directors. In November of 2016, Future Retail had acquired the company.
On Monday, Andhra Pradesh State Marketing Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana had stated that Andhra was the only state selling onions at a subsidized rate of Rs 25 per kilogram. He also added that an indent had been placed to the Centre to obtain 2,500 metric tonnes of onions being imported to the central government from Egypt and Turkey. Rythu Bazaar are state run outlets selling vegetables, fruits, food grains and other essential commodities at subsidised prices and are popular across the two Telugu States over the past two decades.
A similar exchange also took place as TDP Chief and leader of the opposition Chandrababu Naidu alleged lack of support price for 11 out of 14 listed crops and products in the state.
Responding to Naidu's allegations, Minister Kurasala Kannababu said that he was arriving at a conclusion even before crops were yielded or had come to the market.
The Minister said, "The paddy has just started coming to markets, but he is speaking as if it's already there and we are buying it for a low price and cheating the farmers. It's CM Jagan who paid dues of Rs 960 crores that are pending since the time of your government."
As Naidu invited the house for a collective visit to understand how farmers were faring, CM YS Jagan responded swiftly stating that his government was all for welfare of the farmers.
He said, "On Thursday, we will give advertisements in all papers, we will declare MSP for all the products with details of procuring centres. This will appear in all the news papers including your pamphlet Eenadu, have a look at it once." He further mocked Naidu and said, "I'm proud to say that it's we who paid off the Rs 960 crores pending dues to farmers, you should bow your head in shame."
Taking a dig at Jagan, while welcoming back the decision, Naidu said, "Since no one believes Sakshi media, he (Jagan) wants to give ads in Eenadu and Andhrajyothi. Give ads in all other papers except Sakshi, only then will people believe."
As the debate further escalated amidst the chaos, Jagan Mohan Reddy compared Naidu's behavior with a dog's tail, "If there is anyone who is similar to the old saying that a dog's tail can never be straightened, that's Chandrababu Naidu."
In an immediate reaction, Naidu claimed that people were being cheated by Jagan Mohan Reddy and his false promises.