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Stalin, Kanimozhi leads DMK demo against bus fare hike, Congress, MDMK, Left parties pledge support
The Opposition DMK on Saturday staged a protest demonstration all over Tamil Nadu to condemn the steep hike in bus fare and demanded its roll back.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
DMK Working President MK Stalin led the agitation by participating in a protest demonstration held in front of the State Guest House at Chepauk.
Leaders of alliance parties, including the Congress, IUML, MDMK and the Left parties participated in the agitiation and shouted slogans denouncing the AIADMK government for the steep hike and demanded that it should be rolled back immediately as it imposed additional burden on the people.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Stalin termed the hike as 'merciless' and said it had severely affected the poor and the middle class.
He also said by steeply hiking the bus fares, the government has played a dangerous game on the lives of the people and demanded its immediate rollback.
Alleging irregularities even in printing of bus tickets, Mr Stalin said the government has hiked the bus fares without consulting anyone.
Stating that the then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had shot down the proposal to hike the bus fares when the transport department was facing losses, he recalled that the DMK Chief had stated that the losses would be borne by the government.
Seeking to know where the revenue earned when the diesel price was Rs 43 per litre in 2013 went, he said if the government had some mercy it should immediately withdraw the hike.
"If the state government did not roll back the hike, the DMK will stage unannounced agitation across the state, like the massive Jallikattu protests involving the youth", Mr Stalin warned.
DMK Rajya Sabha Member Ms Kanimozhi led the agitation in front of the Chennai Collectorate, in which MDMK General Secretary Vaiko and friendly parties participated.
Mr Stalin's son and actor Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had recently hinted of entering politics, led the agitation at suburban Tambaram and said he could be more be seen in political platforms.
The demonstration was held in all the district headquarters and they were led by the respective District Secretaries of the part.
CPM plans continuous protests from Feb 1
The state unit of CPM has decided to intensify its protests against the government for increasing the bus fare by holding continuous protests from February 1 onwards, until the government rolls back the hike.
In a statement issued on Saturday, G Ramakrishnan, state secretary, CPM, said political parties and public including students have already started protesting in the state demanding the government for a rollback. “It is a fact that lakhs of students are taking to the streets condemning such a move and at least the government should lend its ear to the demand of students and take stock of the situation to reduce the steep increase in bus fare,” he said.
Stating that the government, instead of paying attention to the public, started handling the protests by force, Ramakrishnan pointed out, “The government has been trying to arrest leaders of various outfits under different criminal charges and this is highly condemnable,” he noted.
The government should immediately withdraw the new fares, he stressed. “Similarly, police have intentionally filed false cases against students and youth across the state and such cases should also be withdrawn,” the CPM leader said.
Till then the CPM will continuously hold demonstrations, including road blockades, in all the district headquarters across the state from February 1, he said. It may be noted that the party held protests for the same demand on January 21.
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