Bhubaneswar: The activists of BJD women wing Friday held a protest near Rajbhawan in Bhubaneswar over the hike in prices of LPG by the Centre.
Hundreds of activists of the BJD women wing carrying placards and banners shouted slogans against the Central government and used earthen ‘cholla’ at the protest site to lodge their protest against the hike in LPG prices.
They said that the hike in prices of LPG has hit the poor and common people.
Senior BJD leader Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, present at the demonstration site, said frequent price hike of LPG gas cylinders has made it unaffordable for the poor people covered under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
He said due to the steep hiking of Cooking Gas, lakhs of people of Odisha are unable to refill the gas cylinder and are now forced to use firewood.
BJD Spokesperson Shreemayee Mishra said the Central government has cheated the people of Odisha. The centre had earlier discontinued provision for free rice for the poor and now it has hiked the domestic LPG cylinder price by Rs 50.
She said the BJD, which had supported many initiatives of the Central government earlier, will not support such anti-people policies of the Central government.
Reacting to the demonstration, BJP Spokesperson Sonali Sahu at a press conference here said the BJD leaders are enacting demonstrations to cover up the deteriorating law and order situation and the conspirators of Health Minister Naba Kishore Das’s murder case.
Sahu said the price of products like LPG is determined by the international market and not by the Modi government.
Sahu said instead of enacting drama, the BJD government should first reduce its tax on LPG and demand at the GST council to bring the LPG under GST.
UNI
