Burning issue for BJP

The recent increase in petrol prices has put the ruling BJP in Chhattisgarh in a fix, especially after the Centre raised the issue of cutting the state component of taxes in fuel prices. A cut could bring down prices by as much as Rs 15 a litre but the Raman Singh government, like many other state administrations, is loath to deprive itself of this revenue. As a result, the protests have taken an almost comical turn. For instance, the BJP trade wing has staged a token protest against the ruling UPA government at the Centre, but it has evaded the issue of local tax cuts. Asked about the party’s line of action on the petrol price rise, the trade wing state president Kedar Gupta answered, “We have burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.”