Mir, Bhalla, Sawhney among others arrested
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 28: J&K Congress unit today held protest demonstration at Paloura in Jammu against the BJP Government for the continuing incessant hike in fuel prices all over India.
The protest was organized by president District Congress Committee, Jammu Rural Hari Singh Chib, Corporator Ward-60 Rajni Bala and was led by JKPCC chief GA Mir. It was joined by hundreds of party workers including JKPCC vice president Raman Bhalla, former minister Mula Ram, senior leaders Manmohan Singh, Yogesh Sawhney (President DCC Jammu Urban), Kanta Bhan, Shiv Dev Singh, Uday Bhanu Chib (PYC president), NSUI J&K president Sunny Parihar, Kuldeep Kumar BDC chairman Bhalwal, Block president Jatinder Singh Chib, Gajan Singh, Rana Partap, Bupinder Singh Jamwal, Rajinder Kumar and others.
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The protesters were moving towards Governor House to send message to Union Govt to stop anti-people move. However, they were not allowed to do so as their march was stopped by police. The protesters held placards and raised slogans against the Government in a bid to raise their voice against the day by day increasing petrol, diesel and LPG prices. They demanded an immediate cut in taxes to ease the burden on the common man. Meanwhile, Mir along with senior leaders were taken into preventive custody by Janipur Police. They were however, released in the afternoon.
Speaking on the occasion, Mir said that Congress party is on roads to awaken BJP Govt from sleep. Petrol price has crossed Rs 100 a litre, diesel has crossed Rs 90 in many parts of the country, and the price of cooking gas cylinders are increasing day by day. He said Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s statement that fuel prices will go down once the winter ends was “stupid” and demanded his resignation. The leader asked the Central Government to reduce the prices of petrol, diesel and gas with immediate effect.
Mir dismissed the advertisements given by the Petroleum Ministry to defend the hike as misleading. The Government is telling only a half-truth. Now, those wishing to travel to hill destinations in the summer in J&K will have to shell out 30 per cent extra. Every one — tourists as well as hoteliers — will be affected by the increase in the prices, he said, recalling as how the pandemic had already caused a setback to the tourism industry in 2020.
Raman Bhalla said that hike in fuel price has severely hit the already ‘broken back bone’ of the common man in the country amid the pandemic. The coronavirus infection and lockdown imposed due to this pandemic many people had lost their jobs. Amid this unemployment crisis, where people are roaming around to get a job for living the fuel price has become another challenge for them.
Mula Ram said that middle income households, particularly at the higher income levels, have suffered much more, because they had a lot more to lose. Then there is the question of direct and indirect taxes and the point that Governments should tax incomes and not consumption because the rich end up paying too little while the working class ends up paying a disproportionately high level of taxes even on items of daily use. This is how this Government has been killing growth whenever the economy has shown any signs of recovery.
DCC Jammu leaders, Yogesh Sawhney (J-U) and Hari Singh Chib (J-R) also spoke on the occasion.
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