Andhra Pradesh CPI(M) Secretary B V Raghavulu on Friday demanded that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) withdraw its support to the Vajpayee government as it had hiked the prices of petroleum products, which would hit all sections of people, especially those living below the poverty line. Addressing a press conference in Hyderabad, he said that if the TDP was really concerned about the welfare of the people, it should withdraw its support immediately.
Demanding that the state government provide subsidy for LPG and kerosene, he appealed to the DWARCA groups to write to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in this regard.v
Alleging that both the Centre and the state were acting at the behest of the world bank and multinational companies, he demanded that the Vajpayee government roll back the hike and find alternative means to wipe out the oil pool deficit.
He urged the state government to first ascertain the views of all political parties on the hike and constitute a house committee. The CPI(M) had rejected the invitation by the house committee to attend a meeting on Friday to discus the issue as it did not have a date or signature, he added.

Bureau Report