Cong., Left protest power tariff hike

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JUNE 16. The Congress and the Left parties conducted ``rasta roko'' agitations at a number of places in Hyderabad and in district headquarters towns today, as part of the ongoing agitation against the hike in power tariff. The Left parties further disrupted the meetings convened by District Collectors to elicit public opinion on the new bill to impose stringent punishment for theft of power, by converting the meetings into a debate on tariff hike.

Traffic was disrupted at Khairatabad and Tankbund when Congress leaders, including the APCC president, Mr. M. Satyanarayana Rao, the former Chief Minister, Mr. N. Janardhana Reddy, MP, and Ms. N. Rajyalakshmi, MLA, staged a rasta roko at the Visveswarayya statue for about half an hour. The former APCC President, Mr. V. Hanumantha Rao, staged the rasta roko at Tankbund, where traffic jams were caused. Demonstrators stoned RTC buses and damaged them.

Mr. Satyanarayana Rao said the agitation would be continued until the hike was withdrawn, and the Congress would take up a ``jail bharo'' programme to highlight the plight of the people. He said dissent was brewing within the Telugu Desam also against the tariff hike. He criticised the Chief Minister, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu for allegedly remarking that the Congress was in league with naxalites in inciting the people against the Government.

The CPI(M) leader, Mr. B. V. Raghavulu, also thanked the people.

CM outwits protesters

By Dasu Kesava Rao

UTNOOR, JUNE 16. The Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, had less than a pleasant experience here on Friday when a small group of slogan-shouting youths protested against power tariff hike.

Barely a dozen youth sporting a CPI-ML (New Democracy) banner demanded rollback of the tariff even while from another corner, another band of youngsters demanded more projects on the Godavari.

Initially overtaken by the sudden development at the launch of the poverty eradication programme, Mr. Naidu quickly regained his wits and lashed out at the `com-munists' for spoiling the show for him everytime. `They (communists) have no other work. They gather a few people and shout. That has become a habit. It is not proper for them to obstruct such auspicious programmes like this'.

He urged the packed crowd to signal their resentment by clapping. It responded heartily. He said the left parties were sore with him because they were wiped out in the elections. The Congress was also jealous over the development under the TDP rule and hence tried to create problems for him at every stage. He wanted the communists and Congressmen to ponder whether the power tariff in West Bengal and Maharashtra was lower. The level of subsidy given by his Government - Rs. 3,500 crores on rice and power alone - was many times higher than in the States ruled by the two parties.

Mr. Naidu said it did not give him any pleasure to burden electricity consumers by slapping higher tariff; it was inevitable.

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