Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Achhe din ayenge’ when it will come and where it is, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah questioned.
Bengaluru: Expressing concern over petrol price touching Rs 100 per litre in Karnataka, the Congress today launched a five-day agitation in the State in protest against the steep hike in the fuel prices.
A large number of leaders and party workers sat on a dharna at Shivananda circle and aired the slogan ‘100 not out’ on petrol prices. Some of the leaders were wearing pads and bats stating 100 not out.
Addressing the agitators, Opposition Leader in the Legislative Assembly and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that due to the increase in the petrol prices the rates of essential commodities also went up adding to the woes of common people who are reeling under the Corona pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Achhe din ayenge’ when it will come and where it is, he questioned.
The BJP government both at the centre and state has failed to control the situation of the covid-19 second wave in which hundreds of people lost their lives due to various reasons including shortage of oxygen, no beds and ICUs in the hospitals.
“The BJP government at the Centre and in the state have betrayed the common man by increasing the retail price of petrol and diesel almost every other day,” said Siddaramaiah.
Speaking on the occasion KPCC State President D K Shivakumar alleged that the Centre has increased petrol prices as many as 42 times in a month.
“Hundreds of our party leaders, lawmakers and cadres was stage protests at about 5,000 petrol stations in cities and towns across the state from Friday against the soaring fuel prices,”
He said that the 5-day protest will be held under the “100 not out campaign” in all 30 districts of the state.
In Bengaluru, senior leaders, including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, Ramalinga Reddy, Dineshgundu Rao and others took part.
State-run oil marketing firms have cumulatively increased the retail price of petrol by Rs 25.72 per litre and diesel by Rs 23.93 per litre over the weeks amid the pandemic’s second wave across the country.
A Mangaluru report said The District Congress Committee staged a protest against a fuel price hike in front of the Petrol bunk at KPT here on June 11, Friday by beating Jagate. The protest was named “100 not out”.
Addressing the protestors, senior party leader B Ramanatha Rai said the erstwhile Congress government had ensured that the petrol price did not cross Rs 70 per litre even when the price per barrel was 140 dollars. But now the present government has been continuously increasing the prices despite the price of oil per barrel being very less.
Former MLC Ivan D’Souza, who also spoke, asked “Where are the BJP leaders who used to protest when the fuel price was hiked by even Re 1 per litre in the past?’’ he questioned.
[HAMS LIVE]