Andhra Pradesh Opposition leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy penned an open letter to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday, and called his governance worse than ‘Nero’, the Roman emperor.
In a scathing three-page letter, Jagan said that the state’s affairs have worsened with farmers and students killing themselves increasingly in recent times.
Alleging that the crop loan waiver was a total sham, Jagan said that Naidu had completely scrapped zero-interest loans. He said that when Naidu assumed office, there was a crop loan of Rs 87,000 crore, and as he didn’t waive off the loans, the interests shot up to Rs 56,000 crore.
With the loans piling up, several farmers are taking the extreme step, Jagan observed.
Coming down heavily on Naidu, he said, “In your governance, the Minimum Support price (MSP) has created a record. Forget increasing the MSP, you have ensured that the MSP doesn’t increase, which is a record.”
Continuing his attack, he remarked, “While the entire state is reeling in crisis, the Chief Minister is taking photos with foreigners, getting involved in land deals and being felicitated, which reminds everyone of the Roman king, Nero.”
The YSR Congress Party president said that the Chandrababu Naidu government didn’t act, despite the recent reports coming from the agricultural department, which estimated a huge loss of crops due to the recent rains.
He pointed out that farmers, unemployed youth and students in the state have been committing suicide, but the government is yet to respond.
Jagan said that the state was in crisis with the recent rainfall, as several crops were damaged and roads were cut off, causing immense pain to the people of the state, but the government is yet to act and resolve the crisis.
He also accused the Chief Minister of directing Banks to not give agricultural loans to the farmers.