New Delhi, Sep 10 (UNI) The Congress, with the support of 21 other opposition parties, on Monday held a nation-wide agitation -- Bharat bandh -- in support of their demand to bring the petroleum products under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) umbrella.
The bandh, however, received mixed response.
Prices of petrol in the National Capital have reached to all time high at Rs 80.73 per litre, while diesel too touched its highest rate -- Rs 72.83 per litre.
The prices of petrol and diesel were highest in Mumbai -- Rs 88.12, Rs 77.32/litre respectively.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, led the bandh from Ramlila Maidan in the National Capital where former party president Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ahmed Patel, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, Aam Aadmi party leader Sanjay Singh, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy of the All India Trinamool Congress and leaders of many Opposition parties participated.
A total of 21 opposition parties expressed their support to the protest. These included SP, BSP, NCP, TMC, RLD, RJD, CPI, CPM , AIDUF, NC JMM , JVM , DMK , AAP, TDP, Kerala Congress (M) and RSP.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Gandhi said, 'Petrol prices are at an all-time high and rupee at all time low but Mr Modi does not say a word whereas before 2014 he used to tour across the country and lament rise in fuel prices. Farmers are committing suicide and women are being raped by BJP MLAs and the PM does not say a word. He just keeps on delivering speeches. The country is fed up of seeing him.'
Accusing the Modi government of benefiting only a few industrialist friends of Mr Modi, he said, 'Today people of the country be it farmers, youth or small businesses do not know where to go for redressal. Only 15 to 20 crony capitalists are being benefitted '.
The Congress had on Thursday called for a ‘Bharat Bandh’ on September 10. The party termed the price rise as a 'loot’ of Rs 11-lakh-crore on the common man by way of imposition of excise duties and other taxes of petroleum products.
The Congress, which is demanding that petrol and disel be brought under the GST, has said that this would result in reduction of at least Rs 15 per litre in prices of these products.
With the Congress garnering support from several opposition parties for the protest, Monday's protest is being seen as another show of strength by the Opposition ahead of the Assembly polls in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
On the other hand, the BJP was on the defensive vis-a-vis fuel price hike and said the government of the day cannot do much on the same as global factors such as global non-availability and drop in production have led to this phenomenon.
"The Bharat bandh is a failure," BJP leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told mediapersons here.
The government cannot do much about it as of now because the oil producing countries have 'restricted' their production, Mr Prasad asserted.
"There is political instability in Venezuela, Iran is facing a threat of US sanctions.....Moreover the Shale Gas that was being proposed in the US has not come with the production yet," he said.
"It is a matter of fact that India is oil import dependent country.....but oil producing countries have their own problems," he said.
"The petroleum production in global world today is under severe restrictions due to non availability," Mr Prasad said however adding he is not trying to make any justification of the unprecedented fuel price hike.
Meanwhile, on Sunday late evening, the BJP-ruled Rajasthan government had slashed VAT by four per cent trying to help the consumers.
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