Three more fasting Cong MLAs shifted to hospital

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday ruled out any rollback of power tariff hike.

Congress MLAs Srinivas Reddy, M Hanumantha Rao and S Pitchi Reddy, whose blood pressure and sugar levels shot up were rushed to Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) where seventy-one-year old Congress legislator J Ratnakar Rao admitted on Sunday was also undergoing treatment.

Meanwhile, relay hunger strikes in support of the `fastunto death’ agitation by 78 Congress MLAs, two CPI-M MLAs and one CPI-ML (New Democracy) legislator commenced in all the mandal and district headquarters, reports here said.

Andhra Pradesh State Congress Committee (APCC) president M Satyanaryana Rao, CPI-M Secretary B V Raghavulu and CPI state secretary S Sudhakar Reddy led the party workers in organising relay hunger strikes at various places.

Meanwhile, in Vijayawada about 300 activists of Congress today launched relay hunger strike before deputy collector’s office as part of their state-wide agitation to protest the power tariff hike.

They expressed their solidarity with Congress and Left Party MLAs who are on indefinite fast. Former minister Deveneni Rajasekhar (Nehru) and Congress corporators in the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation participated in the relay hunger strike.

According to reports reaching here, Congress workers launched relay hunger strikes at Avanigadda, Challapalli, Mopedevi, Gudivada, Gampalagudem, Machilipatnam, Pedana and Nandigama in Krisna district.

The Joint Action Committee of Power Consumers Association continued its dharnas before electricity revenue offices in protest against the power tariff hike.

Two more Congress legislators, Boma Venkanna and Papa Rao, whose condition deteriorated were later rushed to NIMS hospital here, party sources said.

With this the total number of fasting Congress MLAs who were shifted to the hospital since yesterday rose to six.