Patna, June 25: The rise in the prices of cooking gas, kerosene and diesel has given Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar the opportunity to turn the heat on the UPA government, which has launched a “tirade” against the former over police firing at Forbesganj on June 3.

While angry residents paraded on the streets with dummies of gas cylinders in their hands, Nitish used the occasion to dub Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as “anti-poor”. “The Manmohan Singh government has simply failed to understand the problems of the poor. I strongly condemn the decision to raise the price of the essential commodities,” the chief minister said.

Nitish went on to add, “There has been a strong bond between the Congress and price rise. The prices of essential commodities keep on rising when the Congress is in power. The poor people are hit hard in the process. The rise in prices of cooking gas, kerosene and diesel has given the aam aadmi the shock of his life.”

The central government on Friday increased diesel price by Rs 3 per litre, domestic LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder and kerosene by Rs 2 per litre.

Various political parties, including the BJP and JD (U), slammed the government’s decision to hike fuel price. Their members staged demonstrations and burnt the effigies of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi in many parts of the city, demanding its immediate rollback.

The JD (U) supporters burnt the effigy of the Prime Minister at Income Tax roundabout. Several homemakers also joined the protest raising anti-government slogans.

JD (U) general secretary Chandra Kiran Sinha said: “Price rise has broken the back of the common man, it has made our life miserable. Every necessary commodity has become expensive and people are driven to penury.”

“Price rise has mostly affected the women because they are responsible for running the households. Sugar, rice, pulses and now cooking gas and kerosene have become expensive. How will they run the family,” Sinha added.

Members of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) burnt the effigy of Manmohan Singh at the Patna Junction. Senior SUCI leader Manikant Pathak said: “The UPA government has become completely corrupt and cannot control the oil companies. There is no government control on the petro products which has resulted in oil companies raising the price as they wish. This decision will please the big industrialists and rich traders while causing misery to the common people.”

SUCI supporters shouted anti-government slogans and demanded that the state government should lift the tax on petro products to bring down the prices.

A similar protest was organised by the Patna Zila Auto Riksha Chalak Sangh. Rajkumar Jha, president of the sangh, said: “More than 5,000 autos are running on diesel and this sudden price hike had made the life of the drivers miserable.”

“We will be forced to execute a hike in the fare in the wake of the government deciding to raise the price of diesel,” he said.