Date:19/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/19/stories/2006071910920400.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

BJP protests against rising prices

Staff Reporter

Asks Government to supply all essential commodities to ration cardholders

BACK TO CHULLAHS: BJP party women make puris without oil on a stove fuelled by bamboo twigs, at the Civil Supplies Bhavan in Hyderabad on Tuesday to register their protest against increasing prices of essential commodities. — PHOTO: P.V. Sivak umar

HYDERABAD: Members of the State unit of Bharatiya Janata Party staged dharna before the office of Commissioner, Civil Supplies, on Tuesday protesting against sky rocketing prices of essential commodities.

Led by senior party leaders Bandaru Dattatreya, Nallu Indrasena Reddy, K. Laxman, Baddam Bal Reddy and Himayatnagar MLA G. Kishan Reddy, they demanded that essential commodities be issued to all ration card holders.

Fuel prices

Women leaders and members of the party attracted attention by using firewood to fry oil-less puris to focus on increasing fuel prices.

Mr. Dattatreya listed out prices of essential commodities as on May 22, 2004 and now, including those of rice, sugar, tamarind, red chillies, wheat, mustard oil, pulses, milk, petrol, diesel and cement bricks.

The BJP leaders recalled how the Government had reduced the quantity of kerosene issued on white ration cards from 18 litres a month, to 10 litres and demanded that the quantity be rolled back.

They said since distribution of ration cards in the much-publicised drive, people were not getting essential commodities at all. Ration cards were thus reduced to mere pieces of paper on which the Government certified the number of members in a household.