Delhi: Looking at the spike in the fuel price in last 21 days amid Covid-19 outbreak, The Congress will hold a nationwide agitation on Monday against the rising prices of petrol and diesel and its MPs, MLAs and leaders will submit memorandums to President Ram Nath Kovind demanding a withdrawal of the hikes to underline the Narendra Modi government’s extortionist looting of common men.
In a statement, Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said, “After the resounding success of the Shaheedon ko Salaam program yesterday, a national level agitation is being organized by the Congress party on Monday against the unmindful, insensitive and unprecedented hike in the prices of petrol and diesel will be massive and will underline the government’s extortionist looting of the common Indian during the Covid-19 crisis.”
The protests by the party will include dharnas on June 29 from 11 am to 12 noon in front of central government offices across the country following social distancing protocols, under the auspices of PCCs and DCCs, he said.
“Apart from this, party MPs, MLA, Office Bearers, leaders and workers will submit memorandums to the President Ram Nath Kovind demanding the withdrawal of hikes in the prices of petrol and diesel,” he said.
On the same day, the party will also hold a social media campaign called “Speak up on Petrol and Diesel Price Hike” to highlight the plights of farmers, taxi and bus owners, transporters, Ola and Uber drivers, laborers and the common people who suffer a cascading effect of such hikes, he said.
He said through the protest, the party will highlight the heavy burden imposed upon the common people by the anti-people policies of the Central government.
In the following week, between June 30-July 4, the party will also conduct massive protests at the Taluk, Tehsil, and block levels, Mr. Venugopal said.
The protest comes in the wake of the hike in petrol and diesel prices. The price of petrol in the last 21 days have gone up by Rs 9.12 for petrol and Rs 11.01 for diesel.
On Saturday, the petrol and diesel prices stood at Rs 80.38 per liter with an increase of Rs 0.25 and Rs 80.40 per liter with an increase of Rs 0.21, respectively.
For the last twenty-one consecutive days, the government has been increasing the price of petrol and diesel, in the process putting undue extra burden on the shoulders of the common people, he said in a statement.
The central government had “amassed” huge profits on account of exorbitantly increased central excise duties on petrol and diesel, even as prices of international crude have been at a record low, the Rajya Sabha MP alleged.
Rather than passing on the benefits of the low cost of procurement to the people, the government had deliberately kept the price high by increasing the excise duty, Mr. Venugopal said.
He said that the protests by the party will hold a protest on June 29 from 11 a.m. in front of Central government offices across the country.