‘Centre insensitive on price rise issue’: Congress ahead of ‘Halla Bol’ rally
The Congress will hold a ‘Mehangai Pe Halla Bol’ rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday as a culmination of the party’s nationwide protest meetings against price rise
The Congress on Saturday hit out at the Centre accusing it of being insensitive towards the price rise issue and said that the grand old party is fighting against this most painful issue all over the country.
Ahead of Sunday’s ‘Mehangai Pe Halla Bol’ rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal alleged that the Centre doesn’t answer questions, whereas Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates of some products have been increased.
“We have done a beautiful signature demonstration campaign all over India by taking crores of signatures from common men those who are affected by this price rise and given to the President,” said Venugopal, flanked by Congress general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and Ajay Maken at a press briefing at the Ramlila Maidan.
“You can feel the pain of the common man due to the insensitivity and the bad economic policy of the government,” he added.
He also said that the upcoming campaign is going to be one of the biggest rallies against price rise in the country.
Congress leader Ajay Maken asked whether there has been a reduction in taxes in the last eight years under the Modi government. “Only one tax has reduced that is corporation tax. The tax that the capitalist families have to pay, only that has been reduced from 30% to 15-22%,” he added.
He further explained the dynamics of increasing GST and excise duty due to the reduction of corporate tax.
Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil cited the government data and said the inflation rate has doubled within one year between April 2021 and April 2022.
There was no immediate reaction from the BJP. Earlier in the day, addressing a press conference in Jaipur, former Union minister and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar targeted the Congress, which is set to elect its new president in October this year, saying that dynasty politics in the grand old party has caused a great loss to the country.
“Have there been elections held,” he asked raising a question over the selection of the Congress president. In an apparent reference to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, he said both mother-son duo has been running the party.
The Congress will hold the ‘Mehangai Pe Halla Bol’ rally on September 4 as a culmination of the party’s nationwide protest meetings against price rise being organised in all Assembly constituencies. A series of interactive “Mehangai Chaupal” meetings were held between August 17 and 23 in mandis, retail markets and other locations in all assembly constituencies.
The rally comes ahead of the party’s 3,500-km ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from Kanyakumari to Kashmir starting September 7.
