The condition of some of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders deteriorated Friday onn the fourth day of their indefinite fast demanding rollback of the hike in electricity tariff.
Out of 30 fasting legislators of TDP, half of them have taken ill and the condition of some of them is critical, said party sources.
Doctors attending on the fasting leaders at Old MLA Quarters said the leaders need immediate medical aid. Satyavati Rathod and a couple of other women legislators are said to be seriously ill.
TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu’s son N. Lokesh Friday called on the fasting leaders to boost their morale. Talking to reporters, he said it was unfortunate that the government was indifferent towards the issue and was also insensitive to the condition of the fasting leaders.
There were subdued celebrations of TDP’s 31st anniversary. Some leaders at the fasting camp tried to cheer up their colleagues by dancing amid the drum beats.
Some other TDP leaders visited NTR Ghat here to pay tributes to the party founder and former chief minister N. T. Rama Rao. Popularly known as NTR, the film actor had floated TDP in 1982 to end the Congress party’s monopoly in state politics.
Naidu, who is away on a ‘padyatra’ in East Godavari district, celebrated the day with party functionaries by cutting a cake and unfurling the party flag.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary B. V. Raghavulu called on the fasting TDP leaders to express solidarity.
He said the condition of 10 to 15 leaders was serious but the government remained indifferent. He advised the TDP leaders to call off the fast in view of their deteriorating health.
The TDP leaders had launched the fast on the evening of March 26, a couple of hours after the police arrested leaders of the Left parties, who were on fast since March 23.
They are demanding the government to bear Fuel Surcharge Adjustment (FSA) levied on consumers for buying electricity from outside the state to meet the demand, withdraw the proposed hike in electricity tariff and also take steps to tide over the unprecedented electricity shortage.
–IANS