 "Congress stages protest against BJP-led centre over price hike")
Congress workers staged protests against the BJP-led Centre across the country on Thursday over the rise in the prices of petrol, diesel, cooking gas, feritilisers and essential medicines.
The agitation was part of the party's state and district-wise "Mehngai Mukt Bharat Abhiyan".
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi hit out at the Centre over what he described as "Direct 'Benefit' Transfer to Modi-Mitr".
Using the hashtag #JanDhanLootYojana, Gandhi alleged on Twitter that the Centre has collected Rs 26.51 lakh crore from people as "fuel tax" and also accused it of writing off loans worth Rs 10.86 lakh crore of the rich.
Party workers and leaders took put protest rallies at the state headquarters under the aegis of the pradesh Congress committees.
"Mehngai Mukt Bharat" marches and dharnas were held in front of Raj Bhavans, with the Congress workers raising their voice against the "constant exploitation" of the common people by the Narendra Modi government.
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"Mehngai Mukt Bharat" rallies were taken out in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh and Mumbai, among other cities, where PCC presidents, senior leaders, MLAs, MLCs and party functionaries, along with Congress workers and volunteers, participated, a statement issued by the party said.
The party also held a special press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi, where its leaders and chief whips in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha charged the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) Centre with running away from discussing the issue of inflation by adjourning Parliament "two days in advance".
This despite the fact that a combined Opposition and specifically, the Congress had expressly demanded a discussion on price rise, the prices of petroleum products, edible oils and medicines, the party said.
It alleged that on top of the Rs 26 lakh crore that the Centre has earned through unprecedentedly high excise rates, the recent spate of taxes are going to put an additional burden of Rs 1.56 lakh crore on the people of the country.
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