Hyderabad: In what can be viewed as a jolt to the BRS, which has allied with the Communist parties during the November 3 Munugode byelection, local CPI leaders on Monday walked hand-in-hand with TPCC president Revanth Reddy during his ‘Haath se Haath jodo’ yatra in Pinapaka in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
The Congress leader, who had earlier said the Left parties would ally with the party at the national level, claimed that the CM, who praised the UPA government under Dr Manmohan Singh, was attempting to inch closer to the Congress.
After Revanth Reddy left Aswapuram, about 25 Communist leaders representing labour unions and caste organisations met him in Pinapaka to discuss issues affecting farmers, such as podu land and power outages. Additionally, they expressed support for the ‘Haath se Haath Jodo’ yatra, which would touchdown in Bhadrachalam on February 14.
The CPI district leadership in Pinapaka and Bhadrachalam, on the other hand, denied that their party leaders had met Revanth Reddy and claimed that there had been a mix-up between the yatra and their protest activity in Pinapaka.
However, CPI Khammam district secretary P. Prasad asserted that the CPI leaders had shown up close to the neighbourhood SBI branch as a protest as part of the national campaign against the Narendra Modi-led BJP government’s alleged backing for the Adani Group. “As Revanth Reddy passed by, our leaders engaged him in conversation. Nothing else needed to be said about this matter”, he said.
On Monday, the seventh day of his yatra, Revanth covered 14 kilometres. The TPCC president claimed during a street meeting at the Ambedkar centre in Manuguru: “The BRS cannot be trusted because it openly backed the NDA in several of its policy decisions such as demonetisation, triple talaq and Article 370 and supported the NDA candidates for President and Vice-President.”
He said: “KCR is like a demonetised Rs 1,000 note. A black cobra can be trusted but not a man like KCR.” Further, the TPCC chief stated that cooking gas would be made available at Rs 500 a refill, if the Congress was voted to power. “Modi’s double-engine sarkar has increased the cost of everything, from diesel to petrol. When the Congress was in power, LPG was available for Rs 400, now it costs Rs 1,200,” he said.
…
