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Congress MP flips over Himachal fuel price hike question. BJP leader shares clip
The grand old party has been hitting out at the BJP over the inflation issue during its Bharat Jodo Yatra.
While the Congress has been slamming the BJP - ruling at the centre - over inflation among other issues during its Bharat Jodo Yatra, the party's Amit Malviya on Tuesday shared a clip from a presser in a counterattack on the rival. Congress MP and the party's communication was on Tuesday asked during a presser about the increase in fuel prices in Himachal Pradesh where the grand old party was recently elected to power. Jairam Ramesh, however, refused to give a response as he told the report to ask the question to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Last week, the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government increased the value-added tax (VAT) on diesel by Rs. 3. This led to surge in diesel prices from ₹ 83/litre to ₹ 86/litre. As the BJP slammed the Congress government over "anti-people" policies, former CM and party leader Jai Ram Thakur also lashed out saying that it will have an impact on common masses. “This would lead to a rise in freight charges and its burden will be passed on to the general public,” he stressed.
On Tuesday, Amit Malviya further intensified the attack as he shared the clip of the presser: "Rahul Gandhi is not the only one who is all over the place, his minions are no better…Incidentally, one of the stated objectives of Bharat Jodo Yatra is to fight against “inflation”, when their own state Govts are hiking fuel prices. This hypocrisy is the bane of Congress party. (sic)," he tweeted.
In the clip, the reporter can be heard asking: "Sir, aap log mehngayi ke khilaaf hain aur diesel 3 rupaye mehnga ho gaya hai Himachal me. Kya isse mehngayi nahi badegi? (Sir, you people say that you're against inflation but diesel prices have gone up by ₹3 in Himachal. Would that not pinch the pockets?)"
A visibly upset Jairam Ramesh responds: "You should ask the chief minister. Why are you asking me?" The full video of the press briefing from Ambala was shared by Jairam Ramesh too on his Twitter handle.
The Congress had recently made a comeback in Himachal Pradesh as the BJP failed to retain the state.
