Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 25: The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) today protested against the Property tax and unprecedented hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and other essential commodities across the Union Territory, including Jammu city at Satwari Chowk today.
The protest was led by JKPCC chief, GA Mir and joined by senior leaders including former ministers Raman Bhalla , Mulla Ram, Yogesh Sawney besides hundreds of party workers. Holding placards in their hands, protesters raised slogans against BJP Govt demanding immediate rollback on hike in petrol and diesel prices besides LPG.
The protesters after staging `dharna’ at Satwari Chowk and tried to move towards the Tawi Bridge but were stopped by heavy deployment of Police midway. The march towards the Governor’s House was halted as JKPCC chief along with former ministers Raman Bhalla and Yogesh Sawhney along with Youth Congress president, NSUI State president, Seva Dal president, several Corporators and other senior leaders were taken into preventive police custody and shifted to District Police Lines where later they were released.
Speaking on the occasion, PCC chief said that from day one Congress has launched nation-wide protest against the petroleum hike.Through protest and dharna in different parts of UT, Congress leaders raising the issue of cruel price hike not only on the roads in the form of dharnas but also an extensive online campaign was also launched by the party where all senior leaders and hundreds of party workers and members raised the issue on various social media platforms .The Congress has been demanding that tax on petrol and diesel be reduced and the common people given relief in prices of fuel.
“The BJP is fleecing the people in the name of taxes,” he said and questioned the BJP-led Government on what basis does it decide on the prices of petroleum products every day and the explanation for subjecting people of J&K to this cruelty.
Raman Bhalla said he failed to understand how any Government can justify such thoughtless and insensitive measures directly at the cost of people. BJP Government has increased Excise Duty on diesel by 820 % and on Petrol by 258 % over and collected upwards of Rs 21 lakh crore in the last six and a half years,” he said. This “unaccounted-for” windfall is yet to be passed to the people for whose benefit it was ostensibly collected, he said.
Senior leaders Mula Ram, Kanta Bhan, Yogesh Sawney, Balwan Singh, Manmohan Singh, Rajnish Sharma, Hari Singh Chib, Raman Mattoo, Sanjeev Sharma, Pawan Raina, Rajveer Singh, Varinder Singh, Ravinder Singh, Uday Bannu Chib-PYC, Sunny Pirhar-NSUI, Bannu Mahajan, Dewrka Choudhary, Ritu Choudary, Rajinder Jamwal, Col Swarn Singh, Gurdarshan Singh and others also,accompanied.
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