Punjab Congress on Thursday staged a state-level protest against the Central Government for allowing skyrocketing prices of oil, cooking gas, and other essential commodities. The dharna and rally was attended by thousands of people who walked in the form of small processions from different wards.
Strongly attacking the policies of the Modi Government, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar said that every section of the society was suffering due to the fatal policies of NDA, while exhorting the people to teach a lesson to the BJP.
“When the Congress was in power in 2014, the price of crude oil in the international market was 104 American dollars per barrel and now it is around 60 per barrel but the prices are being hiked. As a result, consumers in Punjab alone are facing an additional financial burden of Rs 750 crore every month,” he said.
Criticizing the Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Jakhar said that the Minister was blaming the oil companies for the situation. “However, the BJP, which is directly at the Centre, is an equal partner in this mess. If the companies owned by corporates get control of agriculture, consumers will have to cry,” he said.
He said that Modi Government has also increased the price of cooking gas drastically while the subsidy on cylinders has been reduced by 90 percent as compared to 2014. As per the status in the UPA Government, the price of a gas cylinder should have been Rs 350 now which is being charged at Rs 750.