Taking a jibe at Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy, TDP National President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday demanded the former to fulfil his pre-poll promise of bringing the petrol and diesel prices in the state at the lowest in the country.
Naidu questioned Reddy for being silent and not cutting fuel rates, stating that all other states were reducing the "fuel burden" on the people.
"Going by his pre-poll promise, the Jagan regime should now cut rates by Rs 16 to Rs 17 per litre on both petrol and diesel to make Andhra Pradesh's fuel prices the lowest," said Naidu.
Addressing a press conference here, the TDP chief said that the fuel rates were higher by Rs 16.75 on petrol and Rs 16.10 in Andhra Pradesh as compared to Chandigarh, and by Rs 15.70 on petrol and Rs 10.20 on diesel when compared with Lucknow.
"Jagan Reddy owes an explanation to the public why the fuel rates were the highest in Andhra Pradesh contrary to his promise to make them the lowest in the country," said the TDP chief.
Naidu announced that the TDP would launch a protest in support of its demand for cutting fuel prices in Andhra Pradesh.
"The party cadres would take part in a one-hour dharna from 12 noon to 1 p.m. at all the petrol bunks in the State on November 9 (Tuesday). The TDP would highlight the problems faced by the people due to high fuel prices, bad roads and lack of road safety. The one-hour journey was taking five to six hours due to the absence of road repairs," alleged the TDP chief.
Referring to CM's 'broken promises', Naidu asserted that there was video evidence of how CM Jagan Reddy misled people and alleged that the people of Andhra Pradesh were crossing the border to buy cheaper petrol in Karnataka.
"Now, the clear proof was available to show that AP fuel was costlier by Rs. 10.42 on petrol and Rs. 12 on diesel when compared with Bangalore. How would Jagan Reddy defend himself in this respect?" said Naidu.
The TDP chief said the Central Government reduced fuel prices by Rs. 5 on petrol and Rs. 10 on diesel.
"Later, all other States positively responded by cutting rates from their share to offer relief to the people. The AP Government was not responding at all on this. The Tughlaq rule was only bent on destruction and imposing more financial burdens on the people instead of improving their living conditions," said Naidu.
Naidu said all sections of people were giving a warm welcome to Amaravati farmers who were doing 'Nyayasthanam to Devasthanam Padayatra'.
The TDP chief said, "There was a good response to the Padayatra all along the route. Even then, there was no realisation in the Jagan regime what a gross mistake it had committed by destroying Capital City. The people gave the 5-year mandate to Jagan Reddy to protect the AP State like a trustee but not to crush its future."
The TDP chief asserted that the people would revolt and throw out the Jagan rule if it did not halt its lawless policies.
"Over 50 kg of ganja was seized at Kaza toll gate when it was being transported from Vizag to Chennai. What would the DGP say on this? When the drugs mafia links were exposed, the DGP instigated an attack on the TDP national office instead of checking the mafia," alleged the TDP chief.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor