YS Jagan Tears Into Chandrababu Naidu Over Urea Shortage, Crop Price Crash

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, accusing his government of pushing farmers into distress through mismanagement, shortages, and indifference.

“Mr. Naidu, you promised a guaranteed future if people voted for you. But today, you cannot even ensure the supply of a bag of urea. Is this how a government should function?” Jagan asked in a blistering post on X (formerly Twitter).

The former CM alleged that ever since the TDP came to power, farmers have been forced to stand in long queues for basic fertilisers like urea. “For two consecutive years, fertiliser shortages have become the norm. Why have you pushed farmers into this situation?” he questioned.

Accusing the government of turning a blind eye to black marketing, Jagan said: “Fertilizers released by the government are being diverted by your party leaders and sold at higher prices. Private traders are pushing them into the black market, hoarding the stocks, and selling them at inflated rates — while a bag of urea officially costs ₹267, it is being sold with an extra ₹200 added.”

YS Jagan claimed that there were no inspections against illegal hoarding, no action against anyone. PACS and RBKs are not receiving proper allocations. Are you not directly responsible for this, Mr. Chandrababu? he sought to know.

“During our tenure, we supplied 12 lakh tonnes of fertilisers to farmers through RBKs. Through PACS, we ensured farmers received fertilisers at ₹50 less than the market price. Why are you unable to do the same, Mr. Chandrababu? Is it not because of the commissions you collect from the black markets?” he claimed.

On crop prices, Jagan accused the Naidu government of failing to intervene even as prices of onions, chillies, pulses, and sugarcane plummeted. “Onion prices have crashed to ₹400-500 per quintal, while in the open market consumers are paying over ₹35 per kilo. Farmers are committing suicides, yet you remain unmoved. Can anyone wake up those who pretend to be asleep?” he asked.

Drawing comparisons, he recalled how his administration intervened to stabilise prices and support farmers: “During our rule, the government procured 9,025 tonnes of onions when prices fell. We ensured sugarcane fetched between ₹30,000 to ₹1 lakh per tonne, even during Covid by arranging special trains for procurement.”

YS Jagan also accused the TDP of dismantling welfare mechanisms that supported farmers. “You scrapped the Price Stabilisation Fund, sidelined the CMAPP (Comprehensive Monitoring of Agriculture, Price, and Procurement) system that tracked crop prices, destroyed the RBK network, removed free crop insurance, and stopped zero-interest loans. Even the promised ‘Annadata Sukhibhava’ scheme turned out to be a betrayal — farmers were promised ₹20,000 per year, but most received nothing or just ₹5,000.”

Ending his tirade, Jagan declared: “That is why Naidu’s guarantee means only one thing — deception.”