Bhubaneswar: Non-Congress parties today staged protests in various parts of Odisha, against the hike in the price of diesel and restrictions on supply of subsidised cooking gas cylinders.
The government on Thursday announced a hike in diesel price by Rs 5 a litre and capped supply of subsidised cooking gas cylinders to six per family per year. The decisions came into effect Thursday midnight.
In the state capital Bhubaneswar, hundreds of workers and leaders of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) took out a procession against the central government and demanded immediate rollback of the decision.
CPI activists hold LPG cylinders as take part in a protest march against the price hike of LPG and diesel in Bhubaneshwar on Friday. PTI
The protestors also burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
“The hike in diesel price would further make the situation worse for common people who have been struggling against high inflation and price-rise of essential commodities,” BJD vice-president Damodar Rout told IANS.
“We want an immediate rollback of the decision. While hike in diesel price will hit transport sector and impact everybody, the restriction on cooking gas cylinder will hurt lower and middle class families,” he added.
The Left parties and the Bharatiya Janata Party also organised separate protests in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
IANS
