Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday expressed his sympathy with Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu, and said that the reports of alleged suicides by rain-hit farmers in the state would be looked into.
Dr. Manmohan Singh's assurance came after a delegation of leaders of 7 political parties met him, and brought to his notice the plight of farmers in Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to media persons after emerging out of the meeting with the Prime Minister, CPI leader A B Bardhan said that the delegation handed a copy of the open letter written by Naidu on the condition of the farmers, who were reeling under successive natural calamities which had hit the state recently.
Bardhan revealed that the Prime Minister had told the team that he would look into the issue after the central team, currently on a visit to Andhra Pradesh, returned to the national capital and filed its report on the issue. Bardhan added that the Prime Minister said that all the points raised by Naidu in his letter would be looked into.
Leaders from the CPI(M), CPI, TDP, JD(S), RLD, AIADMK and MDMK were part of the delegation which met Dr. Manmohan Singh and brought to his notice reports suggesting that as many as 137 farmers had committed suicides so far.
The team also informed the Prime Minister that the Rs. 400 crore relief package from the National Contingency Fund announced on Tuesday was way too short to meet the demands of the farmers.
The delegation demanded that farmers should be given a minimum of Rs. 10,000 per acre for paddy, and Rs. 15,000 per acre for other crops in the state.