Govt removes Chandrababu Naidu to hospital, TDP calls strike in AP

Thousands of Telugu Desam Party supporters fanned out across Andhra Pradesh to shut the state after their party president Chandrababu Naidu was removed from his fasting site and shifted to a hospital on Monday morning.

Official sources said the former AP chief minister was taken to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science after his health condition deteriorated from the fasting.

They said Naidu’s blood sugar level had significantly dropped on Sunday night prompting the government forces to move him to the medical facility for health ground.

The TDP supremo had been on hunger strike since Friday demanding adequate compensation to the farmers, who had lost crops in recent natural calamity.

Reacting to Naidu’s removal from the fasting site, the TDP activists shouted slogans against the government and called for a bandh in the state.

Many supporters at the medical facility have also demanded to reinstate their leader to the fasting place to continue the “silent agitation” against the government’s alleged failure to deliver goods to the people.

Naidu had decided to go on fast to protest against the ”inadequate relief package” announced by the state government for farmers who lost their crop in the recent rains.

The TDP leader also held protest at the Goshamahal police stadium outside the Assembly to focus on issues concerning farmers last week.

On Thursday, the Andhra Pradesh government had increased subsidy to Rs 6000 from Rs. 4500 per hectare to farmers, who lost their crops in the recent rains.

The government had also announced waiver of interest on farm loans disbursed this season, resulting in a relief of Rs. 350 crore to distressed farmers.

Announcing these measures in the Assembly, Chief Minister Kiran Reddy said the hike in input subsidy would provide relief to farmers who lost crops like paddy, sugarcane and cotton in over 10 lakh hectares of land.

All these measures did not satisfy the main opposition TDP, which demanded the government grant an input subsidy of Rs. 10,000 per acre since the loss was “colossal”.