TPCC Vice-President and former MP Mallu Ravi today slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking "regressive decisions" which were "hurting" the people of the nation.
He slammed the PM for withdrawing the subsidy on domestic gas cylinders, and for the continuous rises in the prices of petrol and diesel in the country.
Reminding Modi of a promise the BJP had made ahead of the 2014 elections, that of reducing fuel prices within 100 days of coming to power, Ravi asked the PM why the promise had not been kept, and why the Centre was "burdening" the economically disadvantaged people of India by increasing the prices of many essential commodities, including petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders.
"Without any concern for the poor, the Centre has let the prices of LPG cylinders soar. This will force the nation's poor to use traditional wood-based stoves once again, which will in turn expose them to a host of health issues. Further, to source the wood for the stoves, the people will be forced to chop trees. Instead of letting these problems get out of hand, the PM should work towards controlling the ever-rising fuel prices," the Congress leader said.
"The failure of the Centre to do anything in the face of the soaring prices makes clear the fact that the Modi government does not care for the poor. It sides with only the rich, and does all it can to fill the pockets of the big corporates, sometimes even fleecing the poor to do so," he alleged.
The Congress leaders in Telangana have been quite vocal in expressing their displeasure at the sharp fuel price hikes in India. TPCC head N Uttam Kumar Reddy had also
assailed the Centre for its "failure" to deal with the continuous rise in the prices of fuel, earlier this month.