BHUBANESWAR: Protesting the spiralling prices of essential commodities members of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Saturday staged a demonstration in front of Raj Bhawan holding vegetables and gas cylinders.
Led by OPCC chief Jayadev Jena and former president Niranjan Patnaik, the Congress activists also submitted a memorandum to Governor SC Jamir.
The OPCC slammed the BJD Government over the Rangarajan Committee Report in which the State has been placed third among the poorest states. Due to poor implementation of anti-poverty measures, the poverty reduction rate during 2009-10 to 2011-12 was only 2.6 per cent against the national average of 8.7 per cent, the memorandum said and urged the Government to take corrective measures.
The Opposition party also criticised the Government saying that due to its lack of foresight, food inflation has touched a new height and common man is the worst hit. Even the inclusion of potato and onion in the list of essential commodities at the behest of the Centre has not yielded the desired result.
Besides, by hiking VAT on petrol and diesel, the BJD Government has inflicted untold sufferings on the people while the NDA Government has compounded the misery by effecting a hike of `16.50 per non-subsidised LPG cylinder. The Centre, Congress said, has ignored the State’s interest in the Rail Budget too because the current allocation will not help complete the major railway projects.
Threatening to intensify their stir against the Centre as well the State Government, Congress also demanded restoration of 24 hour power supply in both urban and rural areas of the State.