Shabbir Ali pooh-hoohs BRS' protests over LPG price hike

Hyderabad: The former minister and Telangana Congress senior leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Thursday ridiculed the protests by BRS leaders against the BJP government's increase in domestic and commercial gas cylinder prices.

He called the protest a mere drama enacted by both parties to divert people's attention from the joint burden they are putting on the common people. He further emphasized that if the BRS government is sincere about helping the people, it should provide subsidies on domestic gas cylinders. He cited the example of the Congress government in Rajasthan, which is providing gas cylinders for only Rs. 500 by bearing the burden itself. He urged Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to follow in the footsteps of Rajasthan counterpart Ashok Gehlot by reducing the cylinder rates.

Moreover, the Congress leader pointed out that the Telangana government was collecting the highest taxes on petrol and diesel in the country, at 35.2 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively. While the Modi government failed to control the rising prices, the KCR government was adding to the burden by not reducing the State's taxes, he said.

Shabbir Ali claimed that the people have realized that Modi and KCR governments were anti-poor and not doing enough to help the common people. "BRS is the ruling party in Telangana and its government has the power to reduce the people's burden by providing subsidy on gas cylinders. Therefore, instead of enacting the drama of being an 'opposition party', the BRS should exercise its duties as the ruling party. However, by conducting some dharnas, BRS leaders are rehearsing for the role they would permanently play after the Congress party wins the next Assembly elections," he said.