Cong stages walkout over price hike, U’khand govt says inflation under control
Fuel price is low in state when compared to states such as Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, says minister Rekha Arya
DEHRADUN: Opposition Congress MLAs cornered the BJP government on the second day of the Uttarakhand legislative assembly over inflation, especially hike in diesel and petrol prices.
Many Congress legislators had moved adjournment motions, demanding a debate in the House on the issue of inflation, arguing that it was affecting the people across the state and as such needed to be discussed in detail.
Not satisfied with the response of the government, they staged a walkout from the House in the evening. They left the house while raising slogans against the price hike and the BJP government’s stand on the issue.
Pritam Singh, Congress MLA and former leader of opposition, said with the double-engine government, people hoped the situation would improve and there would be some relief. “But for the last eight days, almost every day there has been increase in the prices of petrol and diesel. Petrol prices have crossed a century and diesel prices are in 90s,” he said.
Yashpal Arya, Congress MLA from Bazpur, said people were getting affected due to inflation as they were struggling to make both ends meet.
Anupama Rawat, Congress MLA from Haridwar Rural, said prices of LPG cylinders are families. She also raised the issue of power cuts, adding power cuts were affecting the studies of class 10 and class 12 students who are appearing for board examinations these days.
Harish Dhami, Congress MLA from Dharchula in Pithoragarh, raised the issue of rehabilitation of the people from disaster-prone areas to safer areas in his district. He also said many roads and bridges that have been damaged by disasters need to be built to ensure proper connectivity in remote areas.
Responding to the issues raised by Congress legislators, Rekha Arya, minister for food supplies and consumer affairs, listed various government schemes and initiatives under which the state government was providing succour to the people like in case of incentivised ration supplies.
She said inflation was under control in the state and the care of the food security in the state.
She also pointed out that prices of diesel and petrol was comparatively low in Uttarakhand when compared to states like Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
Earlier in the day, MLAs from the ruling BJP and the Congress paid their tributes to the departed legislators and ex-legislators - MLA from Dehradun Harbans Kapoor, who died in December last year and Gopal Dutt Ojha, ex-MLA from Pithoragarh, who died in January
Kapoor was an eight-time BJP MLA and speaker of the Uttarakhand assembly from 2007 to 2012.
He was remembered as a simple man full of humility despite holding key positions during his long political career and a person who was always in direct contact with the people of his constituency.
Ojha was a Congress MLA from Didihat thrice.
Before the House started, many Congress MLAs, including Anupama Rawat, staged a protest in the assembly premises against the alleged targeting of Congress workers in Haridwar Rural after the BJP lost the seat. On Tuesday, Anupama’s father Harish Rawat also staged a symbolic onehour silent protest in Haridwar to highlight the anti-encroachment drive in rural Haridwar’s Laldhang area where allegedly Congress supporters’ houses were demolished on Monday.
MLAS PAID THEIR TRIBUTES TO DEPARTED FORMER SPEAKER HARBANS KAPOOR, FORMER CONGRESS MLA GOPAL DUTT OJHA