Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President & Nalgonda MP Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that the party would organise protests against the rising prices of petrol and diesel on July 4 and against inflated electricity bills on July 6.
Addressing the Congress cadres through Facebook on Friday, Uttam Kumar Reddy appealed to them to participate in both the protests in large numbers while following the COVID-19 guidelines of wearing masks and maintaining physical distance.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Congress party would organise protests at Mandal Headquarters, Towns and Municipalities on July 4 and submit a memorandum to the President of India through the concerned officials. He also stated that the protest was being organised at the national level on the directions of the AICC President Sonia Gandhi. He asked the party cadre to conduct hour-long dharnas from 11 am onwards at Tehsil offices in the Mandal Headquarters and at the municipality offices in towns. He asked them to submit memorandums addressed to the President, Tehsildars and Municipal Commissioners concerned. Later, the Congress leaders should upload the video and photo clippings of agitation on the social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and etc. as part of the ‘Speak Up’ programme.
The TPCC Chief asserted that the BJP-led NDA Government was extending the benefit of drop in global prices of crude oil to the common man. He pointed out that during the UPA’s regime in 2004-05, the price of petrol was Rs. 30 per litre and diesel was Rs. 25 per litre while crude oil costed $40 per barrel. The fuel prices in the country were increased when crude oil became costlier. He said the price of crude oil in the international market today stands at $40. But the Modi Government has not extended the benefit to the common people. Instead, it increased the excise duty to burden them. Similarly, he said the KCR Government was collecting the highest Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel in the country which boosted petrol and diesel prices to Rs. 83.49 per litre and Rs. 78.69 litre respectively in the present-day.
Uttam Kumar Reddy also condemned the TRS Government for the inflated electricity bills charged to the people for the lockdown period. He said each and every family in the state received bills which are two to four times higher than the average. He said a massive protest would be held on July 6 demanding waiver of power bills for the poor consumers and reduction in bill amount for the middle class. He asked the party cadre to organise protest with black flags and badges. Protests will be held before the offices of electricity firms in all Assembly and District headquarters, he said.
The TPCC Chief demanded that the state government waive off the electricity bill for two months of the lockdown period for those having White Ration Cards. Furthermore, he demanded that the present non-telescopic method of billing be replaced with the telescopic method. This would reduce the bill amount by almost 50 per cent for all consumers.
Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee to deliver talk on PVNR on July 24
Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, former President of India Pranab Mukherjee, former union ministers P. Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh and other personalities will deliver lectures on the life of former PM P.V. Narasimha Rao as part of birth centenary celebrations being organised by the TPCC.
The decision to invite various personalities to deliver a talk on Narasimha Rao was taken during the meeting of the centenary celebrations committee headed by former minister Dr. J. Geetha Reddy on Friday. The meeting, held through Zoom App, was attended by TPCC President Uttam Kumar Reddy, AICC Incharge R.C. Khuntia, Committee’s Vice Chairman D. Sridhar Babu, Convener Mahesh Kumar Goud, former PCC President Ponnala Lakshmaiah, former minister Shabbir Ali, ex-MLA Kodanda Reddy, ex-MP Dr. Mallu Ravi, AICC Spokesperson Dr. Dasoju Sravan and others.
During the meeting, Geetha Reddy described Narasimha Rao as the father of economic reforms in India which eventually took the country on the path of growth and prosperity. She also informed that the Economic Reforms Bill was introduced in the Parliament on July 24, 1991. Therefore, as part of centenary celebrations, eminent personalities including Dr. Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, Chidambaram and others would be invited to deliver a talk on Narasimha Rao via video-conferencing on July 24.
Uttam Kumar Reddy informed that many such programmes would be organised throughout the year as part of centenary celebrations in honour of Narasimha Rao, a son of Telangana.