TDP stages walkout on price rise issue

Hyderabad, Mar 12 (UNI) The main opposition Telugu Desam Party today staged a walkout in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly in protest against the alleged failure of the Centre and state governments to prevent skyrocketing of the prices of essential commodities in the state.

Making a statement in the House, Civil Supplies Minister N Raghuveera Reddy, admitted to increase in prices of essential commodities and attributed the same to global factors like crude oil price, lifting of restriction on export of commodities by the Centre and allowing of futures trading in agricultural commodities.

Stepping up dehoarding operations after promulgation of the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Commodities (Licensing and Distribution) order, 868 raids were conducted and commodities worth Rs 29.45 crore were seized, he informed.

Dissatisified with the Minister's reply, Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu charged the Congress government in the state and the UPA at the Centre with being 'indifferent' to the plight of the poor people, who were reeling under severe price rise, and led his members out of the House.

He listed out the comparitive prices of various essential commodities during the erstwhile TDP regime and the present Congress regime.

Earlier, the Minister admitted that prices of pulses, particularly blackgram and greengram had increased since November last year, due to prolonged dry spells in pulse-producing states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

He attributed the increase in price of tamarind to reduction in production in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, besides Andhra Pradesh.

Intervening in the market, Markfed had purchased 10,000 tonnes of redgram, 1,000 tonnes of blackgram and 500 tonnes of greengram from farmers providing a remunerative price of Rs 1,750 per quintal during 2006 Khariff, Mr Reddy said.

Explaining that pulses production had been stagnating since 1958-95, he said the Centre had been urged to increase the Minimum Support Price for red gram, green gram and black gram to Rs 1,750 per quintal.

The Andhra Pradesh Civil Supplies Corporation was asked to procure 50,000 quintals of onion from Maharashtra and over 1,43,000 quintals of Nasik onions were distributed through the farmers market to consumers at Rs six per kg.

Even as members of the TRS and Left parties rose to register their protest, Panel Speaker U Purushotam Reddy adjourned the House to meet again tomorrow.

Protesting against the Panel Speaker's attitude, the TRS, CPI and CPI(M) staged a dharna outside the Assembly.

UNI