Maharashtra Congress to 'gherao' Raj Bhavan over fuel prices, farm laws

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As petrol prices crossed Rs.91/litres in Mumbai on Thursday, the Maharashtra Congress announced plans to 'gherao' the Nagpur Raj Bhavan on Jan. 16, to highlight the plight of the common people and the agitating farmers, a top leader said here.

State Congress President and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said that the country is reeling under unprecedented hike in the prices of petrol, diesel, while lakhs of farmers are sitting in agitation outside Delhi in a never-witnessed-before opposition to the 3 farm laws.

"Since over 45 days, at least 60 farmers have lost their lives, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre remains insensitive to their plight. To awaken this ruthless and arrogant government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we shall 'gherao' the Nagpur Raj Bhavan on Saturday," Thorat told mediapersons.

Explaining the impact of the rocketing fuel prices, the senior Minister said that like the farmers, even the common masses in the country are hit by the record hike in petrol, diesel and gas prices due to the policies of the BJP government.

"In the past six years, the BJP regime has hiked excise duty on petrol from Rs.9.20 per litre in May 2014 by 258 per cent to touch Rs.32.98 per litre now, and a similar 820 per cent hike of excise duty on diesel from Rs.3.46 per litre in May 2014 to Rs.28.37 per litre now. This is despite the fact that international crude oil prices have crashed by more than 50 per cent, from Rs.110 per barrel to Rs.50 per barrel," Thorat pointed out.

By this, he alleged that the Modi Government has raked in a staggering profit of Rs.19-lakh-crore only from the frequent fuel price hikes.

He reiterated that the BJP-led government is only working for the interests of industrialists and corporate houses and looting the ordinary Indians to serve certain capitalists, through the farm laws and the fuel price hikes, and hence, the Congress shall observe Jan. 16 as "Farmers Rights Day".

Thorat stated that the people of the country are "fed up with the BJP's arbitrariness, trampling of the Constitution and democratic values with its policies like the 3 black farm laws and fuel hikes, and the agitation will continue till the laws are repealed.

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