Bhubaneswar: Protesting persistent hike in fuel prices, BJD youth and students’ wing activists Thursday staged demonstration at Lower PMG here and demanded roll back of the price rise.
Hundreds of BJD members carried out a rally on bullock carts and bikes (without starting the engines) on the busy Lower PMG to protest fuel price hike. They staged the demonstration holding placards and shouting slogans against Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. “The Modi government has increased the fuel price nine times after it came to power at Centre. Due to the continuous hike, common men are facing a lot of problems. It is unfortunate that the Centre is not addressing the problem,” BJD’s general secretary Sanjay Das Burma said. “If the BJP-led Union government does not take any step to check fuel price at the earliest, we will intensify our agitation,” threatened Das Burma. Alleging that Pradhan has failed badly in checking the prices of petrol and diesel, they demanded his resignation. BJD youth wing president Amresh Patri said fuel prices in India are among the highest in South Asia. “The Centre reduces prices when elections approach,” Patri alleged.
However, the BJP termed the demonstration of the ruling party as a political gimmick.
“Several states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh have cut value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel. However the state government vehemently rejected the Centre’s request to reduce VAT, even though it is collecting VAT over `20 per litre of fuel”, said state BJP’s general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan.
While petrol costs over `70 per litre, diesel costs over `66 a litre in the capital city.
PNN
