Don't use own vehicle for 6 hrs on Monday, Cong urges people

The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) today urged the people of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack not to use their own vehicles for six hours on Monday to protest against the hike in prices of petroleum products.

The call came a day after the party's women's wing demonstrated against the rise in LPG.

"We request the people of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack not to use their vehicles from 6 am to 12 pm on June 4 as a mark of protest against unprecedented rise in prices of petrol, diesel and LPG by the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre," OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik said.

The prices of LPG were increased by Rs 2.34 and Rs 48 for subsidised and non-subsidised cylinders respectively. Petrol and diesel prices had also been rising steadily till May 29. Since then it is being reduced by minuscule amounts such as 1 paisa and 7 paise.

Addressing a press conference here, Patnaik said a torch rally would be held here tomorrow evening to urge people to support the party's call for the six-hour protest.

Patnaik blamed both the ruling BJD and the opposition BJP over the Mahanadi water dispute.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been supporting Chhattishgarh's illegal construction of projects on upstream of river Mahanadi," he said.

Modi has frustrated the people of Odisha by not asking Chhattisgarh government to stop construction of barrages during his May 26 visit to Odisha, he claimed.

The state Congress chief also blamed the BJD government headed by Naveen Patnaik for remaining silent on the Mahanadi issue till 2015.

"Now the chief minister has been shedding crocodile tears after Chhattisgarh completed its projects," he said.

Niranjan Patnaik also said the Congress has been contemplating to give an Odisha bandh call over the Mahanadi issue and a date in this regard would be declared soon.

Reacting to this, BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said the Chhattisgarh government had constructed most of the projects on upstream of Mahanadi before 2014 when the Congress led UPA government was in power at the Centre.

Therefore, he claimed, the Congress was responsible for construction of projects on upstream of the river.

Denying the allegations levelled by Niranjan Patnaik, BJD spokesman P K Deb said the Congress' stand on the Mahanadi issue is not clear.

"While former OPCC president Prasad Harichandan remained silent over the issue, now Niranjan Patnaik has come out to criticise the state government," Deb said.

Mahanadi has been a bone of contention between neighbours Odisha and Chhattisgarh with the former opposing construction work on upstream of Mahanadi by the latter and thus blocking flow of water to downstream.