BRS leaders, activists stage state-wide protests against LPG price hike, demand rollback

HYDERABAD: Leaders, activists, and party cadre of Telangana’s ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) staged protests across the state on Thursday against the increase in the price of cooking gas.

Protests were organised at the headquarters of all Assembly constituencies across the state in response to a call given by BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao.

T. Harish Rao, Finance and Health Minister, Srinivas Goud, Excise Minister, and several senior MPs, along with the party cadre, led a massive protest all across the state.

Protesters were spotted holding banners and shouting slogans condemning the BJP-led government at the Centre for burdening the common man with yet another hike in LPG prices.

Finance Minister Harish Rao said that the BJP had largely eliminated the cooking gas subsidy. He pointed out that the subsidy was Rs 2.14 lakh crore during the UPA administration, but after the BJP came to power, it was reduced every year, and the amount was currently at Rs 37,209 crore.

Telangana Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy was seen carrying firewood stack on her head during a protest in Rang Rreddy district to protest the hike in gas cylinder prices. Protesters included a huge number of women, who held empty gas cylinders during the protest.

A large number of activists participated in the protest at Tank Bund which was led by Khairatabad BRS MLA Danam Nagender. They shouted slogans against the centre in for the cylinder price increase.

BRS women leaders demonstrated creatively using gas cylinders and firewood. They demanded that the increased gas cylinder prices be reduced immediately.

Women activists protested in Quthbullapur against price increases for gas. They showered flowers on the cylinders and shouted slogans against the centre for a price hike.

The women who were protesting said, "The price of a gas cylinder was raised from Rs.400 to Rs.1,200 in 2014. As a gift to women on the occasion of Women's Day, the Centre has hiked gas prices. They demanded that the centre drop the increased gas prices immediately ".

K P Vivekananda, MLA of Qutbullapur BRS, said predicted that the days of cooking on wood stoves would return, but with a higher cost.

Talsani Srinivas Yadav, Telangana's Minister for Animal Husbandry, led the protest at the Gandhi statue in Secunderabad. BRS workers protested by cooking the food on firewood on the road.

Several women took part in the protest by cooking in Karimnagar district. Participants at the protest, led by Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalar, raised slogans like ‘BJP hatao desh bachao’.

Hyderabad City Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi also organised a massive protest and criticised the Narendra Modi Regimen for casting a huge burden on women in the form of gas cylinder prices.