The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will organise ‘Matsyakara Garjana’ in Nellore on October 7 to protest against the government’s refusal to cancel the G.O. No.217, which was issued to auction the fish tanks.
“Union Minister of State for Fisheries L. Murugan will participate in the protest to mount pressure on the State government to rescind the G.O. being opposed by the fishermen,” BJP State president Somu Veerraju told the media on Wednesday.
Mr. Veerraju said Nellore was chosen as the venue for the protest as fish tanks in the district had been proposed to be auctioned as a pilot project that would cover the other districts depending on the results. He pointed out that a letter written by him on the issue to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on September 12 evoked no response.
The BJP held protests on September 22, but to no avail. While this is so, Fisheries Minister S. Appala Raju maintained that the auction system would benefit the fisherfolks, while accusing the opposition parties of misleading them.
“As the government kept quiet, the BJP has planned the protest on behalf of the lakhs of fishermen and women in the State,” said Mr. Veerraju.
Referring to the road infrastructure, Mr. Veerraju said the State government was unable to do even the patchwork on the damaged roads whereas the Central government was getting cement roads laid in every nook and corner of the country under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. He alleged that tenders for road works costing ₹2,000 crore floated by the State government found no takers, adding that it reflected poorly on the government’s credibility.
“Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan will take part in road repair works in Anantapur and East Godavari districts on October 2. We have protested against the government’s failure in keeping roads in good condition seven months ago,” Mr. Veerraju said, expressing regret that the government remained indifferent to the plight of commuters.
Mr. Veerraju further said that the BJP and the JSP were in the process of identifying a candidate for the Badvel bypoll, for which the allies already held deliberations.
BJP State vice-president G. Chandramouli, fishermen cell convener B. Krishna, OBC Morcha leader D. Umamaheswara Raju and the party’s Krishna district president Sriram were present on the occasion.
