New Delhi: The Congress has decided to call a nationwide bandh on Monday, September 10 over the issue of rising fuel prices. Announcing the decision of the party communications, incharge Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “The Congress party has decided that we will be giving a call for Bharat Bandh on September 10, Monday, in order to highlight the Rs 11 lakh crore fuel loot and to demand an immediate reduction in central excise duty as also excessive VAT in the state.”
Congress has also asked other opposition parties and civil society groups to join their protest against the government. Mr Surjewala said the Congress will also demand petrol and diesel should be brought within the ambit of the GST so that the “common man whose budget has gone haywire is provided the requisite relief”. At the time of the GST roll out the Congress had demanded that the fuel prices should be brought under the ambit of GST.
The Congress on its Twitter handle has put out videos of senior BJP leaders who when in opposition were targeting the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for the rising prices of fuel during the tenure of the UPA. The Congress aims to build a narrative around the price rise in a manner similar to what the BJP had done before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has also asked its frontal organisations to gear up for the nationwide agitation.
The surge in fuel prices is largely attributed to the rise in crude oil prices and high excise duty in the country. The recent slump in the rupee has also lifted the import cost of crude oil, subsequently affecting the fuel prices. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that there was no need for a “knee-jerk” reaction to the rising prices of global crude oil
