Jagan Reddy ordered a crackdown on all illegal and criminal activities

Eleven farmers unwilling to part with agricultural land under the land pooling scheme of the erstwhile Chandrababu Naidu government to develop the capital Amaravati had committed suicide after ''harassment'', Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy said in Amaravati on Tuesday.

Six of the 11 farmers were Dalits, he said, referring to information disclosed under the Right to Information Act.

The Chief Minister alleged that no humanity was shown towards farmers unwilling to give up their land for the capital.

"In the name of land pooling...who were not willing to part with their land...no humanity shown. Farmers were harassed and false cases were booked against them, so much so that 11 of them committed suicide in the last three years," Mr Jagan said.

"Is this good governance? Is this the best practice? Is this No. 1 policing,? he asked.

The Chief Minister stated this while addressing a joint conference of District Collectors, Superintendents of Police and top IPS officials on the second-day of the two-day Collectors conference in Amaravati.

He ordered a crackdown on all illegal and criminal activities and assured police of his total support.

"Anything to do with corruption, crack down and send a message. Only then can we bring about best practices. Talk about No. 1 policing, good governance. It requires a strong will," he said.

"Anything you do it in this purview, my blessings are totally with you. I am totally in support of you. Bring about a change," the Chief Minister said.

He also listed out a series of crimes like call money sex racket, rampant illegal mining in Guntur district, looting in the name of sand mining across the state and wondered how the AP police could aspire to become number one in the country.

The Chief Minister sought to know what the government machinery was doing when rampant illegal mining was on in Guntur district.

"MLAs demanding money from theatre owners, institutions forced to pay money...clubs where gambling takes place...MLAs were involved. All this was happening right in front of our eyes," Mr Jagan said.

The Chief Minister said there was no doubt in anyone's mind that law and order was the top-most priority and said his government was making strong efforts to ensure a corruption free and transparent governance.

"We want to eliminate corruption, bring about transformation in the whole process through transparency in the system," he added.

Home Minister M Sucharita, Chief Secretary LV Subrahmanyam and Director General of Police Gautam Sawang also spoke.