The Left Parties and Congress activists staged demonstrations in Chittoor, Prakasam and East Godavari districts on Sunday, alleging that Andhra Pradesh had got a raw deal in the Union budget which was presented in Parliament in New Delhi by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday.
Congress leaders led by Tirupati constituency in-charge Mabbu Devanarayana Reddy formed a human chain in Tirupati, protesting the ‘paltry allocation’ to the State in the general and railway budgets. He ridiculed that the NDA government, at this rate, would require 500 years to fulfil the promises made to the State before bifurcation.
The CPI’s demonstration against the hike in prices of petroleum products was marked by ‘mock pulling’ of an auto rickshaw with the help of a rope. The party’s State secretariat member P. Harinatha Reddy questioned the rationale behind the hike at a time when the global crude oil prices were plummeting.
Ongole Staff Reporter adds: Activists of the CPI burnt the effigy of BJP-led NDA government for meting out a raw deal to the State. Party District Secretary K. Aruna accused the Centre of turning a blind eye to the State's special requirements to handle the problems post-bifurcation. Kakinada Staff Reporter adds: Registering their protest against the meagre fund allocation for Polavaram project, CPI activists staged a demonstration . Party activists led by leader Tatipaka Madhu took out a rally from Balaji Cheruvu to Kalpana Centre. Mr. Madhu said that though the government had promised to complete the project within five years, but the resolve was not reflected in the budget.