“Going back on promises has become the second nature of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy,” claimed former Panyam MLA and TDP leader Gowru Charitha Reddy, while criticising the government’s move to hike APSRTC prices. She alleged that it would put an additional ₹700 crore burden on the people of the State.
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Addressing a press conference at the TDP office in Kurnool, she said that Mr. Jagan has broken his promise made during election campaign to not increase the prices on any commodities. “They have also increased the prices of electricity and poor farmers are now suffering because of it,” she said.
Later, both Ms. Charitha and Mr. Venkateswarlu, along with TDP activists, protested outside the TDP office amid slogans of ‘Down Down CM’, demanding that the government reconsider its decision.
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Shifting her focus onto the soaring onion prices and the policy brought in by the government to distribute onions at ₹25, she said that poor people are being made to wait in lines for over five hours.
Joining her, District TDP president Somisetty Venkateswarlu demanded the government to give the poor five kg of subsidised onions instead of one.
In Chittoor, activists of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) led by State official spokesperson Samanchi Srinivas on Monday organised sit-in protests in front of the Regional Manager of the APSRTC in Tirupati demanding that the government repeal its decision to hike fares.
About one hundred protesters participated in the protest and raised slogans at the office.
“For poor and middle-class people, students and farmers, RTC buses are the only mode of transport because of its affordable prices. Now, the decision would adversely impact their lives,” Mr. Srinivas said.
He said that the BJP would intensify the agitation if the Chief Minister did not consider withdrawal of the move. Later, a memorandum was submitted at the Regional Manager’s office to register the protest.