Congress carry out protest against fuel price hike
As fuel prices were today hiked for the ninth time in the last 10 days, the opposition Congress has taken to the streets to protest the move. Leading the charge, party MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha staged a protest demonstration at Vijay Chowk near the Parliament in Delhi, kicking off a nationwide agitation against the steep rise in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas. The grand old party is demanding a rollback, accusing the government of “stealing money from the poor” and handing it over to industrialists.
“Our demand is that the government should control prices and stop raising petrol and diesel prices,” senior party leader Rahul Gandhi said while noting that the poor and middle class have been worst hit by the hike.
“We can see that petrol and diesel prices are climbing rapidly. The government is making thousands of crores from this. Congress is protesting across the country against this price rise of petrol and diesel. The government has to stop doing this. It has to ensure that prices do not rise,” he added.
With an overturned motorcycle and cooking gas cylinders placed at the protest site, Congress mocked the PM. On cue from the central leadership, the Karnataka unit of the party hit the streets with gas cylinders decorated and garlanded as deities, with a priest mock worshipping it. Party workers were also seen banging utensils, a swipe at PM Modi’s suggestion to lift the spirits of health workers during the pandemic.