Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur)

Cong takes out bullock cart rally against petrol price hike

- HT Correspond­ent htraj@hindustant­imes.com

: Riding on bullock, horse and camel carts and cycle rickshaws, Congressme­n protested against increasing fuel prices, in Jaipur on Tuesday.

Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot led the protest and announced that the party would organise demonstrat­ions in all district headquarte­rs in the state on the issue on September 28.

“The situation in the country is dismal. People are disturbed with inflation and in these circumstan­ces, fuel price hike has affected the economic structure of all across the country. Despite crude oil prices in the internatio­nal market being half, the central government increased excise duty which has stopped the benefit to people,” Pilot said.

Pilot asked the government to reduce prices of diesel and petrol, saying it was “robbing” the common man by imposing high excise

JAIPUR

duty. He said people are angry with rising prices. “Taking les- sons from their defeat in the pan- chayat bypolls the government should remove tax on petrol-die- sel and gas,” he said.

The angry public will “teach a befitting lesson” to the BJP in the next elections, he added.

District Congress president Pratap Singh Khachariya­was said the prices of fuel and gas is at its highest in the last 70 years. Crude oil price in the internatio­nal market is 50 dollar per barrel, which during the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was 120 dollar per barrel but prices were not this high.

Some Congressme­n also wore garlands of vegetables as a mark of protest against rising of vegetables that hit the poor and common people hard.

 ?? PRABHAKAR SHARMA/HT PHOTO ?? State Congress president Sachin Pilot and supporters at a rally in Jaipur on Tuesday.
PRABHAKAR SHARMA/HT PHOTO State Congress president Sachin Pilot and supporters at a rally in Jaipur on Tuesday.

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