BJP to protest hike by blocking traffic

Talking its protest against the petrol price hike to streets, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will block traffic at several important junctions across the Capital on Monday. HT reports.

Talking its protest against the petrol price hike to streets, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will block traffic at several important junctions across the Capital on Monday.

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Calling the price hike "steepest" in the past few months, the BJP leaders said they will not allow the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to make people suffer.

Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta said the party workers will block traffic at 14 junctions in various parts of the city against unprecedented increase in the price of petrol.

"Just after the conclusion of elections in five states, the UPA government has imposed a big burden of price rise on the people... The Congress government which came to power in the name of common man is looting the people," Gupta said.

Eight months ago, the UPA government had allowed the oil companies to fix the prices and they, in turn, hiked the prices by Rs 15 per litre in little more than a year, the BJP leaders said.

The BJP also took out rallies at five places, including Patel Nagar, Khajoori Chowk and Naveen Shahdara on Sunday, and staged demonstrations against the ruling government.

With the latest rise, the fuel cost in Delhi has reached Rs 63.67 per litre. On April 1, 2010, petrol costed only Rs 47.93 per litre.

The Central government has also indicated revision in the prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas.

"The government collects almost half of the petrol price as taxes. If the UPA government was genuinely concerned about the aam aadmi, it would have cut the tax on petrol in place of increasing its price," Gupta said.