Several Congress leaders were taken into custody by the police here on Monday for staging a protest against continuous increase in the petrol and diesel prices.
Working presidents of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Dr. J. Geetha Reddy and M. Anjan Kumar Yadav, former PCC chief Ponnala Lakshmaiah and former MLC A. Ramulu Naik and others were taken into custody by the police at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park and were shifted to Chikkadpalli police station.
Speaking at the protest site earlier, Mr. Lakshmaiah said poor and middle class people are suffering badly with the regular increase of petrol and diesel prices. He criticised the BJP government at the Centre for promising to reduce petrol and diesel prices within 100 days of coming to power in 2014 and but it was simply forgotten. Mr. Ponnala said 53.35 crore people have been burdened with rising fuel taxes since Modi took over and these include farmers, vehicle users and housewives using cooking gas.
He said during the UPA government in 2014, tax on per litre of diesel was ₹3.46 while it is increased to ₹31.80 per litre, which is 820% more. This is severely affecting farmers who use motors for agriculture. Similarly, tax on petrol was Rs. 9.48 in 2014 while it is Rs. 32.98 now. This is affecting 26 crores middle class people who own two-wheelers.
He said 26.3 crore housewives have been burdened with 100% increase in cooking gas prices.
In Sangareddy, DCC president Nirmala Jagga Reddy, former working president of TPCC J. Kusum Kumar, and party leaders and activists from Zaheerabad, Andole, Patancheru, Narayankhed constituencies participated in the protest. Chairman of the TPCC campaign committee Madhu Yaskhi participated in the protest at Kandukur in Rangareddy district by travelling in a bullock-cart, while Congress Legislature Party leader M. Bhatti Vikramarka staged a similar protest at Khammam.
Former working president of TPCC Ponnam Prabhakar and DCC president K. Satyanarayana led a bicycle and bullock-cart procession as part of the protest in Karimnagar. Mr. Prabhakar said increase in diesel prices is burdening the farming community badly with increased cultivation costs.
In Nizamabad, former Ministers P. Sudarshan Reddy and Md. Ali Shabbir participated in protest programme.
