The Left parties and Telugu Desam Party jointly staged a protest at Indira Park in Hyderabad on Thursday in protest against the failure of Andhra Pradesh and Central governments in controlling the abnormal hike in the prices of essential commodities.
The parties vowed to take up 'serious agitation' in future if the governments failed to act swiftly to control the price rise.
TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, senior TDP leader T Devender Goud, Communist Party of India state secretary K Narayana and Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretary B V Raghavulu took part in the dharna and launched a scathing attack at the ruling party in the state and the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.
They demanded both governments to initiate immediate stringent measures to check the spiralling prices.
Addressing the protestors, who had gathered in large numbers, Naidu said that both the governments had miserably failed to control the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities. Due to this, the poor and middle class families were finding it tough to meet their needs.
Repeated appeals to the governments to control the prices had only fallen on deaf ears, he alleged. The governments would have to pay a huge price if they continued to be indifferent towards the woes of the people, he warned.
Left leaders Narayana and Raghavulu came down heavily on the Union and state governments and pointed out it had become impossible for average earners to eke out livelihood in recent times owing to the skyrocketing prices. The governments had failed to control the black-marketers and hoarders who were creating artificial shortage of essential commodities by hoarding these illegally in the godowns.
The Left leaders also demanded the governments to crack down on the hoarders and black marketers and to amend the Essential Commodities Act, if necessary.