Left parties call for protest during PM’s visit to Kurnool
Ten parties criticise govt’s ‘GST victory event’, arguing that citizens have seen little real benefit from GST reductions on essential goods
Vijayawada: Ten Left parties announced plans on Tuesday to stage a protest during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kurnool on October 16, when the government will be celebrating what it calls a ‘GST victory event.’
The decision was taken at a joint meeting of left parties held at the CPI state office, Dasari Bhavan here, chaired by CPM state secretary V Srinivasa Rao.
The leaders criticised the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for projecting the GST reduction on essential goods as major relief, asserting that ordinary citizens have seen little tangible benefit.
They pointed out that the state has suffered a revenue loss of approximately Rs 8,000 crore due to GST — a figure also cited by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu — and demanded the state government take strong action to recover these losses from the Centre.
The meeting also raised concerns over stalled development projects, including funding for Rayalaseema, the Kadapa Steel Plant, and backward districts. The parties warned against the Centre’s plans to privatize the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
In light of these issues, the Left parties called for a democratic protest to coincide with the Prime Minister’s visit. They also condemned the recent assault on Chief Justice of India Justice B R Gavai.
CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna, assistant secretary Muppalla Nageswara Rao, former MLC Jalli Wilson, CPM secretariat member Y Venkateswara Rao, and leaders from CPI (ML) Liberation, CPI (ML) New Democracy, CPI (ML) and MCPI (U) are among those attended the meeting.
