Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), including the students’ wing of the party, will hold a demonstration against the soaring petrol and diesel prices in the state, the party said at a press conference here Friday.
Party leader Arun Sahoo said that the BJD has planned to host the demonstration in front of the Governor House on October 1 to protest against the price hike of petrol and diesel in the state.
Sasmit Patra, party spokesperson, said that the local tax levied by the state government in the state is one of the lowest in the country and it has increased marginally, while taxes levied by the NDA-led Union government had been manifold creating trouble for the people in the state.
“The Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol in the last five years has increased from 20% to 26% while the Centre has increased their taxes to 111% on petrol and 350% on diesel. So, in such circumstances who needs to cut down their taxes for the people?” Patra asked.
Sahoo said that members of the party’s youth wing Biju Yuva Janata Dal; party’s students’ wing Biju Chhatra Janata Dal and the women wing Biju Mahila Janata Dal will participate in the demonstration.
On the other side, the BJP tried to corner the BJD over their proposed protest plan. Golak Mahapatra, BJP state unit spokesperson, said, “The protest is not meant for the people. It is more of a political nature to counter the comments of the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.”
The protest comes in the wake of the regional party’s recent protest at the petrol pumps to raise the issue and corner the BJP-ruled Central government under whose regime the petrol/diesel prices are escalating in the past few months.
