Former Union Minister and TDP nominee for Tirupati Lok Sabha byelection Panabaka Lakshmi blamed the BJP government at the Centre and the YSRCP government in the State for rise in prices of essential commodities.
During her campaign in the Venkatagiri Assembly segment of Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency in Nellore district on Monday, Ms. Panabaka Lakshmi grabbed the attention of people by turning herself into a vegetable vendor at Sydapuram village.
Highlighting in recurrent increase in the prices of essential commodities including vegetables, she sold vegetables to the villagers. “The essential commodities have gone beyond the reach of commoners. The BJP at the Centre and the YSRCP in the State remain indifferent to such issues concerning the people,” she said.
Ms. Panabaka Lakshmi claimed that the sand that was easily available during the TDP rule had become a difficult commodity and blamed the new sand policy of the YSRCP government for it.
“Both the Union and State governments are competing with each other to impose heavy taxes on petrol and diesel,” said the former Union Minister for Petroleum, adding that she had tried her best to keep the fuel prices within the reach of common people.
Plight of weavers
Interacting with a group of handloom weavers at Balayapalli, she blamed the ‘wrong policies’' of the NDA government for the spate of suicides, by not just weavers but also farmers.
“I am well-versed with your problems. Given a chance, I want to raise your issues in the Parliament and work for their resolution,” she said and recalled that during her tenure as the Union Minister of State for Textiles, she had sanctioned 300 worksheds for weavers in and around Venkatagiri.
Civic infra
The civic infrastructure here needs upgradation, said a group of people at Bangarapeta while referring to the bad condition of the roads and inadequate drinking water supply in the area.
Ms. Panabaka Lakshmi also assured a group of social forestry planters to fight for better market prices of casuarina, whose rate had fallen from ₹4,500 per tonne during the previous TDP regime to less than ₹1,000 per tonne now.
She promised to ensure a remunerative price for papaya when a group of farmers complained about the falling price for the crop.
Ms. Panabaka Lakshmi was accompanied by former Minister G. Surya Rao, TDP MLA from Parchur Yeluri Sambasiva Rao and former MLA P.Srinivasa Rao during the campaign.