Vijayawada: Congress blasts Modi for pushing country into debts

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Dr Sake Sailajanath lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extracting Rs 26 lakh crore from people in just eight years.

Addressing the media at Andhra Ratna Bhavan here on Wednesday, the APCC president said that the administration was horrible both at the Centre and the State. Recalling that tax on petro products was very low during Congress regime, he criticised that the BJP government was more inclined to rob people.

The Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi would launch an agitation across the country protesting the hike in prices of petro products, he added. Stating that the Indian economy was tattered during the Modi regime, he warned, "He (Modi) did nothing good for the country but to Adani and Ambani. People are ready to teach the BJP a good lesson in the next elections."

The PCC chief demanded Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to come out of Tadepalli Palace. 'Petrol price had touched Rs 117 per litre in AP whereas it was Rs 100 in neighbouring States. Auto rickshaw drivers' lives have been ruined due to the exorbitant diesel and petrol price. If anybody protest against the State government policies, treason cases are filed against them. The leaders remain silent though the Centre openly says that they will not give special category status and Visakha steel plant would be sold.'

Expressing concern over the financial status of the State, which is on the brink of bankruptcy, PCC chief Sailajanath said that the government could not answer to CAG on the accounts for Rs 55,000 crore. He demanded the state government to publish a white paper on the state economy.

The Congress leader demanded immediate rollback of power tariff and insisted that the old tariff should be continued.