Left, Cong. condemn firing

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 29. Left parties and the Congress(I) today condemned the police firing at Hyderabad yesterday on political workers who were protesting the power tariff hike in Andhra Pradesh and charged the Naidu Government with ``foisting false cases'' on political activists.

The Communist Party of India while condemning the ``revengeful and repressive measures'' of the Chandrababu Naidu Government said despite the fact that police opened fire on peaceful demonstrators the State government was ``foisting false cases'' against 22 political workers, including against the party's State Secretary, Mr. Sudhakar Reddy.

The CPI general secretary, Mr. A.B. Bardhan, would be in Hyderabad tomorrow where he will meet party people and other sections of the society during his stay, the party said.

The Congress(I) today reiterated its demand for a judicial inquiry with the party president, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, stating that the large number of deaths and larger number of injuries showed how ``deplorable and uncalled for'' the police firing was.

She said the action reflected the panic that gripped the State administration and the Chief Minister's inability to convincingly explain his actions to the people.

The Deputy Leader of the Congress(I) in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia, said the police action showed the callousness of the State Government which he said has become ``totally divorced from ground realities''. In a separate statement, the CPI (ML-Liberation) said the police firing had revealed the ``barbaric face hidden behind a labouriously-hyped cyber State'' and said the nine Left party alliance, of which the party was a constituent, supported the movement to force the Naidu Government to take back the power hike.

The CPI (ML-New Democracy) charged that the action was a ``clear proof that the Naidu Government has embarked on the path of drowning in blood the people's anger against its carrying out the dictates of the World Bank and the Western imperialist powers''.

Demanding a judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court Judge, the party also charged that the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, was intolerant not only of revolutionary movement whose leaders were ``being killed in fake encounters'' but of all protests.

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions charged that the Naidu Government had let loose the reign of terror against agitating workers in their enthusiasm to please the international finance capital and the multinationals

Two other organisations, the National Federation of Indian Women and Jan Hastakshep a campaign against fascist designs, joined the chorus of protests and condemned the police firing.

The NFIW asked it State units to lodge their protest by sending letters to Mr. Naidu demanding action against those responsible for the killings while Jan Hastakshep also echoed the demand for judicial probe and adequate compensation to the families of victims.

Meanwhile, Dr. M. Jaganath, MP and Chief Whip of the Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party, said here that the Congress(I) and Left parties were resorting to politics at a time when the State was facing serious problems due to floods.

Addressing a press conference, Dr. Jaganath said instead of coming to the aid of the people and supplementing the Government relief work, the Opposition was making political capital out of the power hike issue. He charged that the demonstrators were incited by the Opposition to resort to violence which led to police action.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : A.P. violence: Controversy over role of extremists
Next     : Pilot's widow may be Cong. nominee in Dausa