The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) staged a protest in front of the Collector Office here on Monday demanding that the government reduce the LPG price and take necessary steps to control the spiralling prices of essential commodities.
The police took the CPI(M) activists into custody as soon as they began their protests. They were shifted to Krishna Lanka police station.
CPI(M) State committee member Ch. Babu Rao and others said that the government could not stop the protest with arrests. The YSRCP, which was supposed to oppose the Central government’s policies, was suppressing the protests organised against the ‘anti-people’ policies. Increase in property tax and user charges on garbage collection and power tariff hike were the result of the Central government’s conditionalities. The State government, instead of opposing these policies, was sailing with it, he alleged.
The BJP, which came to power with a promise that it would control the prices in 100 days of coming to power, did nothing in that direction. The LPG cylinder price was increased to ₹1,050 from ₹400. The government had done away with the subsidy and was kowtowing before corporates. The LPG, diesel and petrol prices had skyrocketed. The Modi government’s policies were responsible for it, the CPI(M) leaders said.
Party leaders K. Sridevi, D. Kasinath and others spoke.
