Prove where Babu made anti-farmer statements: Payyavula to Congress

In a deft counter-attack, senior Telugu Desam Party leader Payyavula Keshav on Monday demanded that the Congress party provide proof for its oft-repeated charge that his party president N Chandrababu Naidu had stated that the investment in agriculture was a waste.

Talking to media persons at NTR Trust Bhavan, Mr Keshav said that the repeated charge by the Congress the Mr Naidu had described investment in agriculture as waste was an attempt to mislead the people. He said that the onus was on the Congress to prove where and when did Mr Naidu make such a statement.

Mr Keshav stated that former chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy in his lifetime and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy recently, had made baseless allegations Mr Naidu.

He challenged the Congress leaders in general and the Chief Minister in particular to prove the allegations raised against Mr Naidu right by providing substantial evidence.

The senior TDP leader pointed out that Mr Naidu had allotted a lion’s share of funds in the state budget to the agriculture sector during his stint so that the farmers would reap in profits.

Mr Keshav also cast doubts on the hunger strike taken up by Congress MPs demanding the lifting of police cases against students by questioning the rationale behind the protest. He stated that the MPs should have observed this fast in New Delhi to mount pressure on Centre to introduce a Bill on Telangana statehood.