Cong slams govt for hike in cooking gas, petroleum prices

The Congress today hit out at the BJP-led NDA government over the hike in cooking gas, petrol, and diesel prices and reduction in saving deposit rates, saying it is a "three-pronged attack" on the common man.
AICC media incharge Randeep Surjewala said "this is BJP's three-pronged attack on people" and the "anti-people" face of the Modi government has been unmasked, adding it is a "sinister" plan to rob the common man's pockets for filling government coffers.
He said the principal objective of a democracy and welfare state is the duty towards the last man in the line "but the BJP government is, however, burdening the common man for enriching a handful of its crony friends".

"125 crore people of India have realised that the current BJP government is - 'Only Taxation, No Administration'," Surjewala said.
"The central BJP government has unleashed a three-pronged economic attack on the livelihood of over 60 crore Indians. Unprecedented hike in the subsidised cooking gas as also petrol-diesel at a time when saving interest rates are being slashed, has unmasked the anti-people face of the Modi government.
"The truth is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP are breaking the ordinary Indian's back by overburdening him with a slew of unprecedented taxes," he said in a statement.

Surjewala said on one side, India's economy is reeling from "unthoughtful" decision of demonetisation, "lopsided" implementation of GST and an economic slowdown, but the government is oppressing people by "unmindful" hike in prices of essential commodities through a dose of heavy taxation.

The Congress leader said widespread economic sluggishness and large-scale unemployment and shutting down of trade and businesses has already caused an all-round economic crisis reflected in the dip in all indices.
"The current triple whammy by Modi government has jeopardised the budget of every household," he said.
In last three years, the Modi government has hiked the price of subsidised gas cylinder by Rs 63 per cylinder (from Rs 414 per cylinder in May, 2014 to Rs 479 per cylinder today), he claimed.
This total hike of Rs 110 per cylinder will cause immense distress to every housewife upsetting the complete household budget, he said.

Surjewala alleged this is being done when international prices of gas have gone down by 35 per cent in the last three years.
He said the hike in charges by all banks is already affecting common people and the sudden hike in prices of petrol and diesel will create an additional burden of Rs 12,000 crore.