Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 8: The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) staged a protest in Jammu against the recent hike in the price of LPG cylinders and criticised the proposed Indo-US trade deal, alleging that the decisions would adversely affect the common people as well as the country’s economy.
In connection with International Women’s Day, a rally was organized by J&K Mahila Congress president Shamima Raina and Inderjeet Kour at Model Town, but the rally was later turned into a protest due to the unprecedented hike in the prices of LPG cylinders.
Under the leadership of JKPCC president, Tariq Hamid Karra and working president Raman Bhalla, a large number of party workers, including women participated in the rally at Model Town Digiana in the Gangyal area of Jammu.
Carrying placards and banners, the Congress workers raised slogans against the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre and criticised what they described as the Government’s “surrender” in the Indo-US trade negotiations. The protesters alleged that the continuous rise in the prices of essential commodities, particularly cooking gas, has added to the financial burden on ordinary households.
Addressing the gathering, JKPCC chief, Karra termed the Indo-US trade deal a “major blow” to the country’s economic interests. He said that instead of safeguarding the nation’s economic and strategic priorities, the Centre had bowed to pressure from the United States. He said recent LPG price hike had come soon after promises made to women on the occasion of International Women’s Day, calling the decision “cruel” and insensitive to the struggles of ordinary families.
He expressed concern over the possible implications of the India-US trade agreement for the agriculture and dairy sectors. The provisions relating to agricultural and dairy imports could expose farmers and producers in Jammu and Kashmir to competition from cheaper foreign products, Karra added.
JKPCC working president Raman Bhalla strongly condemned the unprecedented hike in the prices of LPG. He said that the poor and middle classes would be badly affected by these anti-poor decisions of the Union Government. He called for an LPG relief package for families belonging to BPL and AAY categories, along with a special subsidy buffer for Jammu and Kashmir, citing the higher transportation and logistics costs in hilly regions.
Former Minister Yogesh Sawhney, district president Jammu rural Neeraj Kundan, Mahila Congress president, Shamima Raina, Inderjeet Kour, Parveen Akhter, Tehseena Bukhari, Santosh Manjotra, Amna Kalyan, Sangeeta, Rita Kanojia, Vandana Makhnotra, and others addressed the gathering.
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