The recent hike in prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG has burdened the people of Andhra Pradesh and the Kiran Kumar government has decided to absorb half of the Rs 50 hike effected by the UPA government on LPG. A decision to this effect is likely to be announced on Tuesday. Costing Rs 342 per cylinder earlier, LPG prices have shot up to Rs 394.29 per cylinder following the hike last Saturday. Assuming the state government will absorb about Rs 25 of the hike, the consumer will now have to pay about Rs 370 per cylinder. Former chief minister late YS Rajasekhar Reddy also did the same during his tenure, when the LPG prices were hiked in 2008.

A shrewd politician never misses the chance to project himself in good light and to cover up his shortfalls. The PCC president and Transport Minister Botsa Satyanarayana did the same. On Monday he rushed to the chief minister's chambers in the Secretariat and submitted a request seeking a subsidy in the LPG price. Later he gave a press statement "As PCC president, I requested the CM to share part of the burden arising out of the LPG price hike by the Centre. He agreed to the same." Botsa also is said to have asked the chief minister to make this announcement from Gandhi Bhavan, certainly to grab full credit for the LPG price reduction for himself alone. But the CM, also a politician, told him that he has a busy schedule on Tuesday and can't make it to Gandhi Bhavan, so he would announce it himself.

Well on the other hand, Transport Minister Botsa Satyanarayana has already okayed APSRTC's proposal to hike bus fares following the recent hike in the price of diesel. The decision was taken following a meeting Botsa had with APSRTC managing director B Prasada Rao. The minister said the hike in tariff had become inevitable since the corporation was incurring losses and the state government was not in a position to absorb the additional burden on account of increase in the diesel prices. However, the minister tried to console the to be burdened commuters saying, "In fact, neighbouring states like Karnataka announced revised tariffs from Sunday night itself. We are still mulling over it since we want to levy the minimum burden on the common man."