The Congress on Saturday hit the streets across the country in protest against the savage increase in prices of petroleum products and the new farm laws and threatened to organise bigger protests if the Narendra Modi government didn’t stop profiteering on people’s miseries.
While the Youth Congress held a demonstration in Delhi, many state units organised protests in a large number of cities amidst reports of disquiet among the people over the absence of an effective Opposition which allowed the Modi government to run amok. The price of petrol crossed Rs 100 per litre for the first time in some cities while it sold above Rs 90 almost everywhere. Diesel which used to be cheap, available at Rs 40-50 per litre till a few years ago, has now touched Rs 80. A cooking gas cylinder also costs around Rs 770.
Youth Congress members cooked using traditional chulha (clay stove) on the road outside Shastri Bhawan which houses the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to stress the point that an LPG cylinder has become unaffordable. They also marched putting a scooter and motorcycle on rickshaws while shouting slogans against the government. Youth Congress chief B.V. Srinivas who led the demonstrations threatened to stop the movement of ministers if the prices were not rolled back.
While demonstrations were organised in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and other states, Madhya Pradesh Congress called for a half-day bandh and achieved considerable success as markets remained closed in most cities. Senior leaders themselves took part in demonstrations in many cities including Bhopal, where hundreds of party workers were arrested for forcibly shutting down markets. In Rajasthan also, a big protest march was organised in Jaipur where some leaders rode camels to make their point.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who addressed a kisan mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, on Saturday, tweeted: “The Modi government should declare those days in a week achhe din (good days) when petrol-diesel prices are not raised. Other days are anyway proving very costly for the people.”
Rahul Gandhi also tweeted: “Mehngai ka vikas (Development of price rise).”
Asked about the Opposition’s inability to corner the government, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha said, “Forget the Opposition. People are saying. You talk of making people atmanirbhar (self-reliant) and you are forcing the people to do atmasamarpan (surrender) before petrol-diesel prices. I suggest Prime Minister Modi to take a day off and watch his old videos for 24 hours to know what he used to say about these issues. He should recall those lofty slogans like ‘bohut hui mehngai ki maar abki baar Modi sarkar (Enough of price rise, next time Modi government)’. Were those slogans meant only to grab power?”