Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu said that the widespread support by the people of the state to the Bharat Bandh on Monday called by the main opposition parties reveals the dissatisfaction over the rule of the union and state governments.
Talking to media persons after holding a protest at the Banjara Hills police station, the TDP chief said that the people will not keep quiet if the government takes them for granted. He accused the central and state governments of being dictatorial in their policies and presuming that they could get away with anti-people policies.
Naidu said that his earlier
arrest at Ameerpet when he was staging a protest against the fuel price hike was nothing short of 'dictatorial'.
The leader of the main opposition party in the state accused the government of trying to suppress the democratic rights of the people by attempting to foil the protests.
Naidu warned that people will be forced to rise against the government if it continues its anti-people policies by raising the prices of fuel. He said that there is a limit to the harassment of the people by the government and cautioned that it will not last long if the situation continues.
The TDP chief said that when the opposition questioned the reasons of hikes in fuel prices, the government claimed that the money is needed for continuing welfare schemes.
Naidu said the state levies a tax of 33.5% on fuel, the highest in the country, and added that if the government cuts this tax, then the price of fuel would automatically come down.
The former CM further said that the government is sucking the blood of the public by raising prices of fuel.
He said that the rate of rise in the income of the central and state governments is parallel to the rise in corruption.
He said the government will earn around Rs. 16,000 crore through the sale of liquor in the state (Rs. 7,000 crore from the auctioning of liquor licences and an additional Rs. 9,000 crore through the subsequent taxes on liquor sales.)
Naidu said that to become profitable, liquor outlets will have to do a business of Rs. 45,000 crore during the next 2 years. This would mean that the state would see an increase in liquor consumption and hence more domestic problems.
The TDP chief was earlier brought to the Banjara Hills police station after being held near Maitrivanam in Ameerpet where he was staging a protest against the hike in fuel prices.
During Naidu's arrest, the jostling between his supporters and the police led to some 2-wheelers parked there falling down. TDP activists got agitated over this and the verbal duel rose in intensity. TDP leader M Narsimhulu led the protesters in their argument with the police.
Courtesy: INN News