BHUBANESWAR: Even as the Centre and the State Government traded charges over unprecedented hike in fuel prices, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Thursday lashed out at both for the crisis which has hit the common people hard.
Criticising the hike in the price of petroleum products, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik targeted the Centre for threatening to cut spending on development projects reacting to the nationwide demand for price cut. “The BJP Government is now behaving like an organised mafia. As the nation demands reduction in fuel prices, the Government is threatening to cut spending on welfare schemes,” Patnaik said in tweet.
The OPCC president has also advised the State Government to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel prices. “The cost of diesel in Odisha is 5th highest in India. But Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has called for a statewide agitation against rising fuel prices,” Patnaik said. “Let me give the Chief Minister a solution which is also easier than deceiving people. How about reducing VAT on petrol & diesel Naveen Babu? Too tough?” Patnaik tweeted.
Protest in Cuttack
Cuttack: Activists of Cuttack Nagar Congress Committee led by its president Mohammad Moquim on Thursday staged dharna in front of the filling stations in the City in protest against price hike of petrol and diesel. Due to the agitation, all the 18 filling stations in the City had to down their shutters from 10 am to 12 noon. On Wednesday, the city unit of Youth Congress took out a motorcycle rally requesting people not to fill petrol in their vehicle to protest the fuel price hike consecutively. The Youth Congress activists also burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “There was a good response from Cuttack people to our request. With no takers, the filling stations were automatically shut down,” said Moquim.