Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram has criticized the introduction of Rythu Bandhu Scheme, which according to him benefits only the big and rich farmers. The scheme introduced by the TRS government not useful for the poor, small and marginal farmers.
Cheques were not given to thousands of farmers and many villages were eliminated from the scheme in Jukkal mandal. It was injustice to skip farmers despite they were having pattadar passbooks and have been cultivating forest lands for over 50 years now, he said addressing a public meeting held as a mark of the party’s padayatra from Mohammadabad to Jukkal mandal headquarters, on Thursday.
During the 12-kilometer padayatra he went on to fields to interact with farmers and NREGS workers en route. When NREGS workers told him that they were not getting even ₹100 per day, he promised them of the CPI(M) fighting for reasonable wages for them.
Demanding the government of making the RBS applicable to all kinds of farmers, who were cultivating forest land, barren and waste land, he said some farmers had secured bank loans also against those lands. He alleged that the conspiracy was on to merge patta lands into forest lands by the forest officials.
Mr. Veerabhadram wanted the forest officers to stop their atrocities against farmers and hand over such lands to cultivators. “Otherwise, our party will lay siege to the Collectorate with farmers and party workers. Even then, if the issue is not solved, we will lay siege to the official residence of the Chief Minister,” he said.
If no assurance comes from the Chief Minister his party would launch the struggle for dethroning him, he said. The CPI (M) Zaheerabad Parliamentary constituency in-charge Venkatramulu, YSRCP leader Sailu, BSP leader Gangaram, party district secretary Chandrashekar and CITU leader Sidhiramulu were among those who participated in the padayatra.