Hundreds of Congress activists blocked the National Highway and State Highways in Jharsuguda led by OPCC working president and MLA Naba Kishore Das, following a nationwide shutdown to protest against rising fuel prices and inflation.
The protest paralysed life in large parts of the district as most people preferred to remain indoors, given an almost-complete absence of public buses and autorickshaws.
Most Goverment offices were closed. Private and most Government buses remained off roads. Retail petrol and diesel outlets, all shops and commercial establishments remained shut.
MLA Das said that when Manmohan Singh’s Government left office, crude oil was priced at $106.85, and petrol was priced at Rs 71.41 a litre. However, under Modi Government, crude oil is priced at $77.25 a litre, yet the price of a litre of petrol is Rs 83 today. Clearly, the Modi Government has been looting the common man by extorting heavy taxes, he told.