Chaos marks Jagan Reddy’s visit to mango market in Chittoor, lathi-charge, political accusations

Former Chief Minister and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s visit to Bangarupalem market yard in Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, in support of mango farmers was marred by chaos on Tuesday.

A large number of supporters and party cadres gathered, ignoring police restrictions, which led to a lathi-charge to control the unruly crowd. YSRCP leader Vijayananda Reddy was injured after falling from a convoy vehicle.

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Reddy criticized the police for their high-handedness and lashed out at the coalition government for failing to procure mangoes from farmers, resulting in a drastic fall in prices. This was his first political programme after a supporter was previously crushed under a convoy vehicle.

Although the police had limited the number of attendees to 30, a large crowd gathered near the helipad as Reddy arrived from Bengaluru by helicopter. His ride to the market yard from the helipad near the Aragonda flyover was chaotic, with vehicles of YSRCP leaders joining the convoy. Even at the market yard, party cadres barged in, defying the police-imposed limit of 500 attendees.

Reddy stated that more than 76,000 farmers had cultivated mangoes across over 2.20 lakh acres, with an estimated yield of 6.45 lakh tonnes. He said these farmers were in distress due to the lack of Minimum Support Price (MSP). He claimed that during his tenure, mango farmers received ₹29 per kg, but “in just one year, prices have dipped drastically under the coalition government.”

He alleged that while mango procurement usually begins in early May, this year’s delay had led to massive stockpiling and a severe drop in prices. “The other day, Karnataka secured an assurance from the Centre. What was Chandrababu Naidu doing? Why couldn’t he persuade the Centre to ensure better prices for the farmers?” questioned Reddy.

YSRCP leaders faced backlash after mangoes were thrown onto the road and crushed by tractors, an act purportedly staged to show that farmers were deliberately destroying their crops. Agriculture Minister K Atchannaidu accused the YSRCP of turning the event into a “scripted drama.”

He claimed the mangoes were from the orchard of YSRCP district secretary Prakash Reddy and were dumped by his tractors just before the party chief’s convoy arrived.

“These tours are not meant to help farmers but are intended to disturb peace and law and order in the state,” the minister said. He further accused the Opposition party of working against the interests of Andhra Pradesh. “Their goal is to scare away investors and hinder the smooth functioning of the government,” he added.