Jaganmohan Reddy meets Pawar, demands better package for Andhra farmers

NEW DELHI - Former Congress MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy met Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar here on Thursday and submitted a memorandum to him demanding a better relief package for Andhra Pradesh farmers, who lost their crops in the unseasonal rains.

After his meeting with Pawar, Reddy told reporters that Pawar assured him that a better package was in the offering for the farmers.I am hopeful that they would come out with a better package for farmers in Andhra Pradesh that is what he assured us. We are just hoping that something better would come out from the Central Government,” said Reddy.

“But, ultimately it is the Central Government and State Government together who would have to come forward to come out with the better package to improve the life of the farmers in Andhra Pradesh,” he added.

The former Kadapa MP, however, refused to comment over the controversy surrounding the demand for a separate Telangana state, saying that everyone should remain focused on the farmers’ issues.

“This is something that the state of Andhra Pradesh needs from us and we cannot afford any dilution in that topic because the life of the farmers there are alarming and it is very important that we stay focused,” he said.

Jaganmohan Reddy had gone on a 48-hour hunger strike in Hyderabad on December 21 to demand adequate compensation to farmers who lost their crops in heavy rains early this month in the state. (ANI)