Andhra Pradesh: Congress to step up protests against ‘anti-people policies’

‘Large-scale rally planned on April 25 to mark Chirala Perala movement’

The Congress will stage Statewide protests coinciding with the birth anniversaries of Dalit icons Jagjivan Ram, Jyotiba Phule and B.R. Ambedkar, from April 5 to 14, against the ‘anti-people’ policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre and the YSR Congress Party government in the State, according to Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Sake Sailajanth.

Addressing reporters in Chirala after preparing a roadmap for reliving the civil disobedience movement spearheaded by noted freedom fighter Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya against the British, Mr. Sailajanath said that the situation now was no different as the two governments were vying with each other to impose heavy taxes on the people, making their lives miserable.

‘’We will launch a sustained campaign to oust the BJP and YSRCP from power drawing inspiration from Gopalakrishnayya,” Mr. Sailajanath asserted. Several of the party’s senior national leaders will attend a massive public meeting on April 25 to mark the Chirala Perala movement, said the party’s State vice-president Sripathi Prakasam.

The party’s State unit convener of its SC wing K. Vinay Kumar recalled how Gopalakrishnayya led the ‘Chirala anti-tax agitation’ by leading thousands of people to set up settlements outside Chirala and Perala in protest against the municipal tax policies of the British.