Cong, Jat Mahasabha protest fuel price hike, increase in taxes

Tribune News Service

Dharamkot (Moga) May 24

The Congress and the Jat Mahasabha protested the recent hike in fuel prices and the increase in taxes by the SAD-BJP government in the state, at Dharamkot in Moga district today.

They burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and raised slogans against the state government. They also blocked traffic on highway for about an hour.

The protesters slammed the policies of the Union and state governments and said the prices of essential commodities were rising day by day and the common man was facing difficulties in making their both ends meet.

While addressing protesters, Kaka Lohgarh lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and said they had both made “false promises of ache din” with people.

Alleging that the prices of pulses had increased from Rs 20 to Rs 40 per kg in the past couple of months, Congress leader Kaka Sukhjit Singh Lohgarh said the prices of petroleum products had also increased with hefty taxes imposed on it. “The SAD-BJP government has imposed a heavy tax on petrol in the state, due to which it is the costliest here in the country,” he said.

Jat Mahasabha activist Inderjit Singh Bir Charik lashed out at Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal over his “false claims of surplus electricity” and said the people were facing a lot of inconvenience due to long electricity cuts. “The paddy season, in which the maximum power is consumed to pump out underground water, is yet to begin but power cuts have already started,” he said.

Former district president of the Congress Tara Singh Sandhu said all types of businesses had gone into debt due to “wrong taxation policies” of the state government.