Fuel price hike: Sena MP asks EC to hold state polls; Congress 'drums' up protest
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi taunted the ruling party on the recent hike in fuel prices after a hiatus of a few months linking it to the absence of any state Assembly elections in the country. The politician then requested the Election Commission to quickly announce the schedule of upcoming state elections, which will then shift fuel price from ‘deregulation to regulation mode’ and then Indians will not be affected by the soaring prices.
Petrol and diesel prices went up by 80 paise a litre each on Saturday, and this turns out to be the fourth jump in five days. Oil firms have passed on the spike in the cost of raw material to consumers, said news reports.
Meanwhile, the Congress too attacked the Centre on Saturday (March 26) over the hike in petrol and diesel prices. Calling for a stop to the “shameless fleecing” of the public, the party said they have organised a protest on March 31 on the escalating fuel prices.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told the media that on March 31 at 11am, they will protest outside their homes and public places with garlanded gas cylinders and beat drum bells and other instruments to draw the attention of a “deaf” BJP government about the “insurmountable increase in the prices of gas, petrol and diesel”.
Banging drum bells and other instruments during the Congress’ Mehngai Mukt Bharat Abhiyan”, a three-phase protest against rising fuel prices across the country between March 31-April 7, is meant to be a mock imitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s campaign to beat utensils to show gratitude to the health workers during the peak of the COVID pandemic.
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Incidentally, the fuel prices had remained stable for over four-and-a-half months, when political parties were busy fiercely fighting electoral battles in the five states in which Assembly elections recently concluded. In fact, the state-owned oil companies increased the fuel prices 12 days after the announcement of the results of the state assembly elections.
Chaturvedi had tweeted that she requested the Election Commission to announce the schedule for the upcoming state elections immediately, and that it would automatically move fuel price from deregulation to regulation mode. This would bring relief to Indians from soaring prices, she said, adding Elections=No fuel price rise.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman however denied any connection between the government’s hike in fuel prices to the conclusion of Assembly elections on Friday (March 25). Instead, Sitharaman, blamed the Ukraine-Russia war, which started over a month ago.
During a debate on the Finance Bill, Sitharaman added that even in 1951, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru could say that a Korean war could affect Indian inflation. However, if the same statement was made today in a globally connected world, that the Ukraine war is affecting us, it is not accepted, she reiterated.
Also read: Petroleum Minister blames ‘unsettled’ international conditions for fuel price hike
Further, Sitharaman defended the government saying that they have not brought in extra burden on the consumer. She rejected the theory that not hiking up prices had to do with elections. The global situation, a war-like situation is not a time when we are looking at racing, she pointed out, adding if the oil market companies think they are procuring a 15-day average at a higher rate, obviously they would have to bear.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at PM Modi stating, “King prepares for a palace, while subjects reel under inflation”.
