Telugu Desam Party leaders and cadres participated in rallies and dharnas at different places in the city as part of the bandh call given by the opposition parties in protest against the hike in prices of petroleum products by the Central government. They said that the common people would be unable to bear the high prices if the Government did not consider rolling back the hike in petroleum prices immediately.
TDP district president Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, former MP Gadde Rammohan, urban president Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan, urban senior leader Nagul Meera and others participated in the protest programmes conducted along with the CPI and CPI (M) leaders.
The TDP leaders reached the Pandit Nehru Bus Station early in the morning and staged dharna for nearly two hours. They did not allow the buses to ply. The TDP leaders claimed good response to the bandh call all over the district and deplored the government “turning a deaf ear” without considering the plight of people in the wake of skyrocketing prices.
The TDP leaders also participated in protest programmes at Rayanapadu, Gollapudi and Ibrahimpatnam along with the Left parties' cadres.
Mr. Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said that the opposition parties were determined to put up a united struggle till the Government agreed to withdraw the hike keeping in view the overall problems of people. He took strong objection to the hike in liquefied petroleum gas, as it was a big burden for women of poor and middle class sections.
CPI (M) district secretary V. Umamaheswara Rao said in a statement that the success of the hartal was a clear evidence of the people's ire on the Central government and it was time the government gracefully accepted the people's disapproval of the hike in the prices of petroleum products and rolled back the same. He thanked all sections of the society for making the hartal a great success.
