JKPYC intensifies protest against fuel price hike

Congress leaders protesting against hike in fuel prices in Jammu on Sunday. -Excelsior/Rakesh
Congress leaders protesting against hike in fuel prices in Jammu on Sunday. -Excelsior/Rakesh

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 21: The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Youth Congress (JKPYC) today intensified protests against incessant fuel price hike across the country.
The protest was joined by former Minister, Raman Bhalla, DDC Urban president, Yogesh Sawhney and Uday Chib, president of J&K unit of Youth Congress. Scores of party activists gathered outside the PCC Headquarters in Jammu and raised slogans against the BJP-led Government for its failure to check the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel which have crossed all the previous highs.
Raman Bhalla said the hollow claims of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Government at the Centre was a pro-people Government stand exposed now that the Centre has failed miserably to protect the interests of the common man.
Bhalla lamented that petrol and diesel prices are being increased daily when the entire country is hit by COVID-19 pandemic, and people are in crisis due to the lockdown. He said that the Central Government is looting the people by hiking the excise duty on petrol and diesel.
Yogesh Sawhney said that the anti-people policies of the BJP Government are responsible for the high prices of petrol, diesel and LPG despite crude oil consistently remaining down to less than 50 per cent for the last six years. “Modi Government has earned Rs 28 lakh crores in the last six years by increasing the excise duty on petrol and diesel alone,” Sawhney added.
Terming the hike in petrol and diesel prices ‘historic’, Uday Chib said that the steepest fuel price hike will have cascading effects on other essential commodities affecting people already suffering from the exhaustive policies of the NDA Government. He added that the Youth Congress will launch a series of protests against the anti-people policies of the BJP led Government at the Centre.