Cong., Left parties insist on formal talks

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, AUG. 23. The Congress and Left parties have insisted on a formal invitation from the Government to talks to end the impasse over the rollback of power tariff. As the fast by MLAs of these parties entered the sixth day on Wednesday, the mediation efforts by the BJP and the MIM did not make much headway.

At a joint press conference at the hunger strike camp, Mr.K. Rosaiah of the Congress, Mr.S. Sudhakar Reddy of the CPI and Mr.B.V. Raghavulu of the CPI(M) said the mediation exercise, at best, could pave the way for formal talks with the Government.

They made it clear that no concrete proposals were made either by the BJP or the Government till now. They were ready for talks directly with the Chief Minister, Mr.N. Chandrababu Naidu, ``but there is no let-up in the agitation.''

The leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), Dr.Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who is leading the fast by the party MLAs, sounded sceptical of the Government's attitude to talks to resolve the problem arising out of legislators going on fast.

``Our demand is that the Government roll back the tariff. But we are ready for talks which are possible if the Government keeps the tariff hike in abeyance and clarifies its position on the House Committee,'' Dr. Reddy told mediapersons at the fasting camp.

Mr. Rosaiah regretted that even as the mediation attempts by the BJP were in progress, the Government displayed an indifferent attitude as reflected in its response when the issue figured again in the State Assembly. ``When the MIM sought to raise the issue in the House, the Finance Minister, Mr.Y. Ramakrishnudu, had casually remarked that the party could also join the mediation mission initiated by the BJP. The remark shows how serious is the Government,'' he said.

Mr. Raghavulu said they would not allow the agitation to get derailed by any ``diversionary tactics'' by the Government in the garb of mediation or a dialogue with the agitating parties. Yet, they were prepared for talks on any proposal that would come from the Government. There was no question of the agitating parties forwarding any proposal as ``our demand on rollback was clear,'' he said.

The three parties reviewed the ongoing stir and announced that there was no change in the programme already chalked out-- one hour "Bijli Bandh" on Thursday and Chalo Assembly on August 28.

In an informal chat with mediapersons, Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy reacted strongly to a question relating to the Chief Minister's warning that power cuts would be the order of the day and that he would not be responsible for the poor quality of power if the Opposition demand for a rollback was accepted. ``It is shameful that Mr. Naidu, who ruled the State for the last five and half years and messed up the power sector, should talk in such a tone and tenor,'' Dr. Reddy said.

A heavy downpour this morning drove the fasting legislators in the makeshift camps on the Old MLA Quarters campus indoors. But it did not dampen their spirits as they spread the mattresses in the corridors and stretched their limbs.

A section of Congress MLAs is credited with the view that it would have been better for the party to confront the Chief Minister in the Assembly rather than fritter away their energies in the hunger strike camp. But they too seemed to have reconciled to a long-drawn out ordeal as crowds of supporters thronged the hunger strike camp to offer their solidarity and support to them.

During the lunch break of the Assembly session, Mr.K. Hari Babu and Mr.R. Ravindranath Reddy, BJP legislators informally discussed with Mr.D. Srinivas, CLP deputy leader, and Dr.M.V. Mysoora Reddy, CLP secretary, the prospects of talks with the Government.

The MIM legislator, Mr. Syed Sajjad, also met Congress leaders, including Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy, and made some suggestions to resolve the crisis. But the negotiations could not take a concrete shape during the day.

Two senior MPs, Mr.J. Chittaranjan of the CPI and Mr. Mahaboob Jahidi of the CPI(M), flew in here this morning and visited the hunger strike camp. They decried ``the adamant attitude '' of the Government in the face of the determined indefinite fast by legislators of Opposition parties.

Braving the downpour, the ballad singer Gaddar rendered folk songs denouncing the Government for the tariff hike, much to the delight of the crowd present at the hunger strike camp.

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Section  : Southern States
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