Congress intensifies campaign on issue
P. C. Chacko and Ajay Maken joined Congress activists outside various petrol pumps across the capital
Congress activists, under the leadership of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken, intensified their campaign on Tuesday — the second day of its threeday drive — to collect over 10 lakh signatures from consumers outside nearly 300 petrol pumps in the city to protest against the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel.
Mr Maken alleged that the prices of petrol and diesel have shot up as a result of the periodic hikes in excise duty and VAT, for which the Modi government at the Centre and the Kejriwal government in Delhi were responsible.
The DPCC president and AICC Delhi in- charge P. C. Chacko joined the Congress activists outside various petrol pumps across the capital for the signature collection drive.
“People are fed up with the soaring prices of petrol and diesel as it is having a cascading effect on the prices of other essential commodities, and the price rise is breaking the back of the common people. With the crude oil prices in the international market plummeting to as low as $ 58 per
barrel, petrol and diesel should not cost more than ` 38 and ` 30 respectively in Delhi, but Delhiites are made to pay dearly for petroleum products due to the Modi+ Kejriwal Tax,” claimed Mr Maken.
“Ten lakh signatures would be presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, requesting them to roll back the price hike in petrol and diesel,” he added.
Mr Maken said that when Congress was in power, and the price of crude oil in the international market was $ 108 per barrel, consumers had to pay just ` 31 in taxes for ` 100 worth of petrol.
“People are being needlessly burdened by the thoughtless actions of the Modi and Kejriwal governments, as they seem to have little time to spare to address the pressing problems of the people, as they are always at loggerheads, trading charges and clashing against each other,” the DPCC president said.