Congress lashes out at Centre over rising prices
Tuesday, 19/05/2015
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PATIALA: Local Congress leaders on Monday staged a protest against the rising prices of essential commodities and the recent hike in fuel prices.
Congress MLA Preneet Kaur leading a protest in Patiala on Monday.
The protest was led by local MLA Preneet Kaur and was organised by district unit of the Congress with party workers taking part in large numbers. Congress workers slammed the policies of the central and state government and said that the prices of essential goods are rising by the day and the common man was facing difficulty in making ends meet.
While addressing the protesters, Preneet lashed out at the Modi-led central government and said that it had got to power by making fake promises of ‘acche din’. “For the past one month, the prices of pulses have increased from `30 to `40 and it has made life very hard for the common man. The sudden increase in the price is one of the main reasons for inflation,” Preneet said.
On state government’s claim of surplus electricity, Preneet said that the claim of Punjab’s chief minister and deputy chief minister that the state has become a power surplus state is totally false as the people are still facing long electricity cuts.
On the occasion, Atul Joshi, president Congress Vyapar Cell, said that the business fraternity in Punjab is being destroyed due to the wrong policies of the state government as it has imposed more taxes on petrol, diesel, electricity and other necessary items as compared to other states.
“It is very unfortunate that the industry in Punjab is shutting down and shifting to the other states. We need to stem this trend now or we will lose jobs. At the time of Congress government petrol was `66 per litre and diesel was `45 even though crude oil was $115 per barrel but now crude oil prices are around $70 per barrel but petrol costs `72 and diesel `54 which is injustice against the people of India,” Joshi said.
These protests come at a time when the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation has hit a four month low and wholesale price index (WPI) is at an alltime low of -2.65%.
