Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 31 (PTI) Demanding the roll-back of the prices of petrol and diesel, the Congress in Kerala on Thursday organised protests across the state as part of the second phase of the AICC’s agitation against the central government’s fuel pricing policy.
As a mark of symbolic protest, Congress workers garlanded the top of LPG cylinders and vehicles against the government’s failure to arrest the fuel price hike and inflation.
The protest was held as the Centre on Thursday registered a seventh hike in fuel prices.
Party workers staged protests in front of their houses and public places.
The Congress said dharnas and marches will be organised in the state on April 4 under the leadership of District Congress Committees and on April 7 under the leadership of the KPCC.
KPCC president and Lok Sabha member K Sudhakaran along with his family members participated in the protest in his hometown Kannur.
Sudhakaran said the continuous increase in the price of fuel and cooking gas has made the lives of people miserable.
The KPCC chief said inflation also affected all the sectors. “Prices of essential commodities and construction materials rose sharply. Central and state governments pretend not to see the plight of the people,” Sudhakaran said.
Speaking after inaugurating the protest organised at the KPCC headquarters here, former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy alleged that the Narendra Modi government exploited Rs 26 lakh crore from the people in the last eight years by levying taxes on petroleum products.
Chandy, who is also a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), said people are suffocated due to the rising LPG prices.
Central and state governments see this as a means of generating revenue, he alleged.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan inaugurated the protest organised by the Thiruvananthapuram district committee of the Mahila Congress at Nandavanam in the state capital.
Petrol and diesel prices were on Thursday hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in rates in the last 10 days to Rs 6.40 per litre.
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon local taxation.
This is the ninth increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision in March. PTI TGB TGB HDA HDA
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