Members of the CITU-led Andhra Pradesh Medical and Sales Representatives’ Union staged a demonstration in front of the Prakasam Bhavan here on Thursday to press for their eight-point charter of demands including a ban on online sale of medicines.
The agitators, led by its district secretary E. Giri, came in a procession to the busy Church centre raising slogans in support of their demands including ban on the Foreign Direct Investment in the pharma sector which gave scope for foreign companies monopolising the supply of essential drugs turning sick domestic companies. There was no effective mechanism to stop the sale of over 350 banned drugs online at a time when the Centre was planning to ban another 500 drugs, contended CPI(M)-led Centre of Indian Trade Unions Prakasam district general secretary Ch. Srinivasa Rao. They wanted the Centre to promote State-run pharmaceutical companies and make available quality drugs at a cheaper cost to the ailing people.
