From a bullock and camel cart rallies to leaders riding bicycles to social media hashtags, the Congress and other opposition parties held protests across India on Monday against the fuel prices hike by almost nine rupees in the past 120 days, saying it was hurting the poor and the middle-class adversely.
The government has claimed that the fuel prices has risen because of increase in international crude prices but the Congress has said that the Centre has artificially kept the prices high by not lowering the special excise duty imposed when the international crude prices fell to US $ 30 dollars in March this year. Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan have, however, justified the increase saying that the money was needed for providing relief to the poor suffering because of Covid pandemic.
The Congress and the opposition has from Monday started decided to have four day protest, starting from Monday, against the fuel hike, which they claimed were hurting the middle-class and the poor, whose incomes have dried up due to Covid 19.
In Bengaluru, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with Congress leaders rode a bicycle from his residence to Minsk Square to protest against the hike. KPCC President DK Shivakumar said: “In Delhi, diesel prices have exceeded petrol prices. We must protest against this.”
{{/usCountry}}In Bengaluru, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah along with Congress leaders rode a bicycle from his residence to Minsk Square to protest against the hike. KPCC President DK Shivakumar said: “In Delhi, diesel prices have exceeded petrol prices. We must protest against this.”
{{/usCountry}}In Rajasthan, a camel cart rally under leadership of state Congress president Sachin Pilot was taken out. “Despite having full stock of fuel, the government has burdened the common people by increasing fuel prices continuously for last 20 days. Such a steep hike has not been seen in 70 years,” Pilot said.
In Haryana and Uttarakhand, Congress leaders took out bullock-cart rallies.
“Modi ji called himself janta ka chowkidar, but the oil companies have been making profits and the PM has failed to provide any relief to the people,” said Kumari Selja, chief of Haryana Congress, asking what the Centre has done with Rs 18 lakh crore earned by hiking the excise duty on fuel in the past six years.
Sitting on a bullock-cart, former Uttarakhand chief minister, Harish Rawat, said it was because of the “faulty” Centre government policies that for the first time in the country’s history prices of diesel was higher than that of petrol.
In West Bengal, the Congress and Left parties on Monday held their first joint agitation against fuel price hike at Red Road in the heart of Kolkata. The ruling Trinamool Congress also held a separate protest rally.
“The country’s GDP has hit the bottom. It is the lowest in 11 years and unemployment is on the rise. Still, fuel prices have been increased,” said Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra.
In Maharashtra, Congress state chief and revenue minister, Balasaheb Thorat, public works and former chief minister Ashok Chavan, energy minister, Nitin Raut, participated in the protests. “The crude oil had mounted to $125 a barrel during the UPA government, but the government under the leadership of the then prime minister Manmohan Singh could keep the diesel-petrol prices under control. Today the crude oil prices have dropped to $50 a barrel, despite of which the prices are scaling new high every day,” Thorat said.
In Uttar Pradesh, apart from the Congress, the other opposition parties, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, also demanded roll back in the fuel prices and had held protests. “Diesel has become costlier than petrol. What did not happen in 70 years, has now happened,” said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. BSP chief Mawayati tweeted: “The (Central) government must control petrol and diesel prices. On one hand people are already distressed with Covid-19 and now this further price rise is staring in peoples’ face.”
In Ranga Reddy district of Telangana, the Congress leaders registered their protest by riding cycle rickshaws and in Warangal, they came in bullock carts. However, the bulls were disturbed apparently on seeing the crowd and ran helter-skelter, injuring some party workers. In a separate protest, Telangana Pradesh Congress chief, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, in a memorandum to Suryapet district collector, requested roll back of fuel price hike.
Several Congress leaders also released videos as part of the party’s campaign ‘Speak up against fuel price hike’ in his social media messages. “The hike in price of fuel will affect life and livelihood across India. The Modi government has failed again,” said West Bengal Congress chief in Somen Mitra.
In a video, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari said the enhanced tax on petrol or diesel is like the taxes that cruel Mughal and British rulers imposed on Indians. “The then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had made a policy that diesel prices would always be kept lower to petrol. And all the prime ministers--be it Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Atal Behari Vajpayee or Manhoman Singh--followed it. But, Modi government has overturned that policy,” he said.
BJP leaders termed the protest as a this as a drama
Leader of opposition and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the decision to decontrol the prices of the fuel was taken during the UPA government. “If the Congress is so concerned about the price hike, the state government in which Congress is a parner should reduced the VAT,” he said.
Bansidhar Bhagat, Uttarakhand BJP president, said, “The Congress protest on fuel price is nothing but a laughable drama. These are just tactics to deviate the public attention from serious allegations against it like taking funds from China and misusing PM Relief Fund.”
Madhya Pradesh BJP vice-preisdent Vijesh Lunawat said the Central government is using the money to give a boost to the economic activities and meet aspirations of people. “If Congress is really concerned it should reduce VAT on diesel and petrol in Rajasthan to show the way,” he said.
(With inputs from state bureaus and agencies)