Congress activists led by Sanjay Nirupam protest against rising fuel prices in Mumbai

Mumbai: Congress activists on Tuesday held a protest outside the Churchgate railway station in south Mumbai against rising prices of petrol and diesel. Congress workers under city unit president Sanjay Nirupam demanded that petroleum products be brought under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). [caption id=“attachment_4322827” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Nirupam said while crude oil prices are on downhill globally, they are skyrocketing in the country, especially in Mumbai where petrol is sold at Rs 80.80 per litre and diesel at Rs 68 per litre. He accused the NDA government of “betraying” the common people by not keeping the promises made by the BJP ahead of 2014 polls. Nirupam demanded the Maharashtra government also take up steps to bring petroleum products under the ambit of GST. “When it is done, the prices would get halved,” he claimed. During the protest, Congress activists raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and raised placards comparing the crude oil and petroleum prices prevailing during the previous UPA rule with the ones under the NDA government. “Even Economic Survey has hinted towards possible inflation and further rise in crude oil prices in the international market. This government is least interested to redress problems of the common man. I feel that common people will have to face more hardships in future,” he said. Another party leader said the NDA government hiked petroleum prices several times since it came to power in 2014.