Adopt resolution in Assembly against farm laws, APCC tells govt.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) general secretary Ch. Sridhar Reddy on Friday urged the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government to convene a special Assembly session to facilitate the adoption of a unanimous resolution against the three farm laws.

Addressing the media conference here, Mr. Sridhar Reddy said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy should immediately convene a special Cabinet meeting to finalise a resolution, urging the Centre to take back the new farm laws, which were adopted much against the federal spirit of the Constitution as agriculture is a ‘State subject’.

In the first place, the Chief Minister and opposition leader N.Chandrababu Naidu should apologise to the farmers in the State for supporting the three ‘corporate-friendly’ Bills at the time of their adoption by the Parliament, said Mr.Sridhar Reddy, who is also the party in-charge of Prakasam district.

“The YSRCP and the TDP can make amends for their anti-farmer stand taken in the Parliament by ensuring the adoption of unanimous resolution in the State Assembly or else they will incur the wrath of farmers who are not willing to accept anything short of unconditional withdrawal of the farm laws,” said Mr. Sridhar Reddy.

Power sector reforms

He said it is unfortunate that the ruling YSRCP was the first party to back the Centre’s Electricity (Amendment) Bill which envisaged, among other things, fixing of smart meters to agricultural pumpsets. The move is aimed at diluting the free power scheme, he said.

Party’s farmer wing State vice-president V. Rajagopala Reddy recalled that it was Dr.Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who had introduced the free power scheme in the united Andhra Pradesh and the NDA government’s power sector reforms aimed at determining power tariff with no subsidy component.

‘Ready for local body polls’

Mr. Sridhar Reddy, after a meeting with party functionaries, said the Congress was geared up to face the local body elections in the State.