The members of the Congress party submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India against the hike in prices of petroleum products as part of protests organised by the Pradesh Congress Committee in district headquarters across the State on Wednesday. In Dehradun, the PCC vice-president Jot Singh Bisht led a delegation of party leaders who submitted the memorandum addressed to the President at the district magistrate’s camp office.
In the memorandum addressed to the President, the Congress party has stated that during campaigning for the lok Sabha elections, BJP leaders had promised the public that prices of petroleum products would be lowered and the level of expense would also be controlled. The memorandum states, “Presently, despite a 70 per cent drop in crude oil prices in the international market, the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre is keeping the price of petrol and diesel high to benefit oil companies. The items of common need have become costlier instead of becoming cheaper. Despite consistent drop in the price of crude oil in the international market, the Central Government is not transferring the benefit of this price drop to the retail customers.
During its term, the UPA Government at the Centre had controlled prices of petroleum products when the international crude rate was $159 per barrel. Since the BJP came to power, the price of crude in the international market has dropped to about $50 per barrel but a proportionate decrease in retail price of petroleum products was not made by the Government. The general perception is that the price of petroleum products is not being decreased as the Central Government is under pressure from influential businesses. The proportionate decrease in the cost of petroleum products would lower the price of a domestic lPG cylinder to less than Rs200 while reduced transportation cost would provide relief to the poor across the nation.”