Congress, Opposition parties plan protests against rising prices

PRICES OF PETROL AND DIESEL ROSE FOR THE 10TH CONSECUTIVE DAY, WITH PETROL COSTING ₹86.8 A LITRE; DIESEL ~75.82 IN MUMBAI

NEW DELHI: After having focused its attention on the Rafale deal, unemployment and agrarian distress, the Congress is now planning a nationwide protest by all Opposition parties against rising prices, in the backdrop of skyrocketing fuel prices.

Dates for the agitation, and the shape it will take, will be decided at a meeting of Congress general secretaries, those in charge of overseeing state units, and state party chiefs on September 6, a senior Congress functionary familiar with the developments said on condition of anonymity.

Once finalised, he said, senior Congress leaders will talk to all Opposition parties and try to take them on board.

On record, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said that if the government does not reduce fuel prices immediately, the party will launch nationwide protests and also hold a joint rally on the issue.

“We will hit streets over the hike... There will be nationwide and elaborate protests from Kashmir to Kanyakumari,” Tewari said.

A meeting has been called to give a final shape to the agitation programme,” he said.

Consumer price inflation in July rose 4.17% compared with the same month a year ago, declining from a five-month high of 4.9% in June, according to data from the Central Statistics Office.

Yet, there are concerns over the potential cascading effect of rising petrol and diesel prices on overall.

Fuel prices increased for the tenth consecutive day on Tuesday.

Led by a spike in global crude oil prices and the depreciating rupee, the prices of petrol and diesel have surged to record highs.

The Congress aims to build a narrative around the price rise in a manner similar to what the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had done before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

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