Petrol-Diesel price hiked 65 times in the last 7 months alone, Centre still indifferent; Cachar Congress puts out a protest rally

To protest the price hike of petrol, diesel and LPG gas, the Cachar District Congress has put out a protest rally this morning in the city. In the rally that started in the Devdoot point petrol pump, All India Mahila Congress Committee (AIMC) President and former Silchar MP Sushmita Dev stated, “In at least 200 cities in India, petrol is now priced at Rs 100 or more. Petrol and diesel prices have hiked 65 times from January to July, which is a rare instance in independent India. The price of every essential commodity has gone up centering around the hike in petrol and diesel prices, while the central government is still indifferent in this regard. And all of this is because of the hefty profits, as in the last seven years the Narendra Modi government has racked up Rs 25 lakh crore by only hiking petrol and diesel prices.” She made those remarks while participating in the dharna in Silchar on Thursday to protest against the hike in prices of almost every essential commodity, including petrol, diesel and cooking gas cylinders.

The protest rally started from the petrol pump at the Devdoot point in Silchar, but they tried to organize it in full compliance with the Covid protocols. The Congress workers tried to spread their message among the people through the mass awareness campaign. They protested loudly with slogans like “Why petrol and diesel prices have crossed 100 rupees? We want an answer from Narendra Modi, Central Government murdabaad”, etc.

Apart from Sushmita Dev, District Congress President Pradeep Kumar Dey, General Secretary Partha Chakraborty, Congress candidate from Silchar, Tamal Kanti Banik, Sujan Dutta, Sajal Banik, Rajesh Deb, Rahul Alam Laskar and Iqbal Hussain Laskar was also present at the protest.

Sushmita Dev said, “Life of a common man is getting harder and harder, while the central government is still being indifferent. In the past, they were always vocal against price hikes, and today it is the first time since independence that prices are rising so fast, under their leadership. The Prime Minister asked to give up the subsidy on cooking gas cylinders and thousands of people have done so accordingly. Yet, the price of a cooking gas cylinder now is over a thousand rupees. Petrol-diesel prices have hiked 65 times in seven months, the highest in the history of Independent India. And it has a direct impact on everything from food to essentials. The central government is still indifferent in this regard because the Prime Minister and his associates are raking in huge profits from the price hike. In the last seven years, the Narendra Modi-led central government has made a profit of Rs 25 lakh crores by hiking the petrol and diesel prices alone. And this number will further increase if other factors are taken into account. Narendra Modi and his associates are making the lives of the people miserable by claiming themselves to be ‘compassionate’. ”

Since it is the pandemic time, various restrictions have been imposed by the government due to which the protest on this day was limited. In this regard, Sushmita Dev said, “We have taken out our protest to a limited extent in compliance with the standard operating procedure. Once the situation returns to normalcy, there will be a strong protest against the price hike and then the people will be by our side as well”