Date:22/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/22/stories/2006072225400500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

BJP decries price rise

Staff Reporter

Stages hunger strikes in city

HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party, continuing its protest against rising prices of essential commodities, staged hunger strikes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 12 different points in the city on Friday.

Leading the strike at Khairatabad, former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya charged the State and Central Governments with failure in controlling inflation and also failing to import goods that were in shortage. The rates of all commodities had seen a steady increase ever since Congress came to power at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh, he alleged.

Mr. Dattatreya, who termed the UPA Government as a visually-challenged one and the State Government as being hearing-impaired, alleged that Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's Government, keeping votes in mind, had distributed 50 lakh white ration cards in the State prior to the municipal and MPTC/ZPTC elections. "However, they did not increase the quota to ration shops after increasing the number of beneficiaries, which is another reason for the severe shortage of commodities and in turn, contributing to the rise in prices," he said, pointing out that the scarcity was felt more in the supply of kerosene and rice.

Protests to continue

Demanding that Dr. Reddy pressure the Centre to increase the rice and kerosene quota to Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Dattatreya said the BJP's protest programme would continue till a solution to the difficulties of the public was in sight.

In fact, the party was planning a nation-wide `Ring a Bell' agitation from July 24 when the Parliament would sit for the next session.

Apart from Mr. Dattatreya, all the State and city leaders of the BJP led the hunger strikes at various points, including K. Laxman at Musheerabad and G. Kishen Reddy at Himayatnagar.