Jagan Accuses Chandrababu Government Of Betraying Farmers, Calls Welfare Promises A ‘Deception’

YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, alleging that the coalition government had failed to fulfil its commitments to farmers and had reduced agricultural welfare measures introduced during the previous YSRCP administration.

In a post on social media platform X, Jagan claimed that the promises made by the ruling alliance under its Super Six and Super Seven programmes, as well as the commitments listed in its election manifesto, had not been honoured. He accused the government of misleading farmers by promising enhanced financial assistance before the elections and then delivering only a fraction of the announced support.

According to Jagan, the previous YSRCP government provided regular assistance to 53.58 lakh farmer families under the Rythu Bharosa scheme between 2019 and 2024 despite facing financial pressures and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He alleged that beneficiary numbers had now been reduced to 46.85 lakh , leaving nearly seven lakh farmers outside the scheme.

The former chief minister also questioned the implementation of the coalition government's farmer assistance programme. He said that before the elections, Chandrababu Naidu had promised an additional annual benefit of Rs 20,000 per farmer family over and above the Centre's PM-Kisan support. However, Jagan alleged that farmers had not received the promised level of assistance and that the gap between commitments and actual disbursements had widened over the last two financial years.

Jagan further accused the government of neglecting agricultural support systems and allowing farmers to suffer from falling crop prices . He claimed that crops such as paddy, maize, cotton, chilli and tomato were not receiving remunerative prices in the market. He contrasted this with the previous YSRCP government's expenditure on price stabilisation measures and alleged that such interventions had now been discontinued.

The YSRCP chief also criticised the government's handling of crop insurance . He said the earlier administration had borne the entire insurance burden on behalf of farmers, while the current government had shifted part of the cost back onto cultivators. He further alleged that delays in the government's contribution to insurance schemes were affecting farmers' ability to receive benefits.

Raising concerns over other agricultural programmes, Jagan claimed that the zero-interest crop loan scheme had been discontinued and alleged that compensation and input subsidies had not been provided to affected farmers even months after severe weather-related crop damage. He also accused the government of weakening institutions such as Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) , e-crop systems and agricultural testing laboratories.

The former chief minister additionally highlighted issues faced by aquaculture, mango and tobacco farmers . He alleged that aquaculture producers were struggling with rising feed costs and inadequate subsidies, while mango growers were yet to receive pending payments. He also pointed to declining tobacco prices and ongoing protests by farmers, claiming that their concerns were being ignored.

Jagan said the coalition government had delivered "unfulfilled promises, unpaid dues and disappointment" to the farming community.

The Andhra Pradesh government and the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are yet to issue an official response to the allegations.