BJP Stages "Jail Bharo", Police Arrest Leaders

In protest against the state government's failure to supply adequate subsidised seeds and fertilizers to farmers, and against the increase in prices of essential commodities, the Bharatiya Janata Party, on Friday, staged a "jail bharo" protest at the Babu Jagjivan Ram statue at the Nizam College grounds.

Addressing the gathering, senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said that the UPA government has increased petrol prices 24 times, and fertilizer prices 6 times, ever since its assumption of office at the Centre. He added that the government had "miserably failed" to control sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities, and that it has made the lives of the middle class and the poor "pathetic".

Apart from this, the state government has increased the power tariff indiscriminately, further burdening the common man, he said.

Venkaiah Naidu alleged that the UPA government was not bothered about the poor, and that it has been shielding corrupt leaders. He also slammed the government for its failure to bring back the black money stashed away in Swiss bank accounts.

The BJP leader also criticized the state government for its failure to supply text books and other stationery to schools even though they re-opened a week ago.

Later, the police arrested the BJP leaders, including Venkaiah Naidu, state president G Kishan Reddy and Bandaru Dattatreya, and shifted them to a nearby police station. All the leaders and activists were released later. (INN)