Rajamahendravaram: A National Executive Member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) Akkineni Vanaja stated that education and healthcare are crucial public services, and the alliance government’s move to privatise them is an unforgivable offense.

During a press conference held at the local CPI office on Monday, Vanaja remarked that while prominent educators advocate for education and healthcare to remain in the public sector, the alliance government’s decision to privatise these sectors is deplorable.

She criticised the state government for its negligence towards the Polavaram project. She pointed out that while the government initially claimed Polavaram and Amaravati were its two priorities, it is now causing severe delays to the Polavaram project. She accused both the Central and State governments of playing a blame game, neglecting the project and failing to provide justice to the displaced people.

Vanaja also highlighted the severe shortage of fertilisers like urea and DAP, which has been plaguing farmers for the past one month. She criticised the government, stating that its actions are only benefiting middlemen while farmers suffer from shortage of fertilisers and fair price for their produce.

She alleged that officials are turning a blind eye to the black market, where urea is being sold for an extra Rs 100 and DAP for an extra Rs 200. She announced that the CPI’s national conference will be held in Chandigarh from September 21.

CPI District Secretary Tatipaka Madhu said the CPI plans to contest in four to five wards in the upcoming local elections and will consult with other Left-wing parties. He said that the public is highly agitated about electricity issues and demanded that the government immediately withdraw the true-up charges and smart meters.

CPI Secretary V Kondalarao, Assistant Secretaries Sappa Ramana and P Lavanya, and executive members Chintalapudi Sunil, P Trimurtulu, C Nogaji, Vanapalli Suryanarayana, T Nageswara Rao, Reddy Ramana, and Allam VenkateswaraRao were present.