Chandrababu says sorry for neglecting farmers

NELLORE/KANDUKUR: "Yes, I had committed a mistake as chief minister.That mistake forced the farming community to undergo untold miseries and experience an unbearable mental agony.I feel sorry for that," Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu told farmers in Nellore district on Friday.Interacting with farmers on his way to Prakasam district for Rytu Poru Bata, he said farmers would have been in a better position now had he introduced free power supply and some other welfare programmes for them.He inspected watermelon, paddy, tobacco, blackgram and other crops in various villages in Kavaali Rural mandal.Addressing farmers at Mannangi Dibba village, he described the TDP as a milkgiving cow and said that people did a mistake by voting for the Congress."Instead of selecting a milkgiving cow (TDP), you have selected a beast which stopped giving milk (vattipoyina goddu, Congress)," Naidu said and alleged that people had been suffering a lot in the last seven years of Congress rule.Sounding confident of regaining power in 2014, he cautioned the people not to make any mistake in future like they did in the 2004 and 2009 elections.Naidu assured that the TDP, if elected to power, would supply free power to farmers for nine hours.Describing the late chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy as a wild boar, Naidu alleged that Reddy had pocketed public money.Comparing his own nineyear rule as a golden era, Naidu recalled that several IAS officers who had worked with him occupied higher positions, while some of the same officers who worked with the Rajasekhar Reddy landed in jail.Without sparing Chiranjeevi, Naidu said that if Chiranjeevi was committed to social justice, why did he demand plum portfolios for his MLAs.Kavali MLA B Mastan Rao, Gudur MLA B Durgaprasad Rao, Telugu youth state president B Ravichandra, TDP district president S Chandra Mohan Reddy and others were present.Later, Naidu proceeded to Ulavapadu mandal in Prakasam district where he undertook padayatra for about 15 km.Naidu inspected parched crops at Atmakur and other villages.