UP: Cong stages statewide protests against fuel price hike

Congress leaders and workers on Wednesday staged demonstrations at all district headquarters in the state to protest the increase in diesel and petrol prices, a party leader said.

In Lucknow, the protesters rode rickshaws from Ravindralaya to Vidhan Sabha as part of the protest held on the directives of party national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress spokesman Mukesh Singh Chauhan said.

Similar protests were held in other districts of the state including Sitapur, Kanpur, Faizabad, Balrampur and Basti, Chauhan said.

Congress Legislature Party leader, Ajay Singh Lallu said the country was witnessing an economic slowdown with the auto and textile sectors being particularly hit hard and lakhs of people were on the verge of losing their jobs.

"Under such a scenario, by hiking the petrol and diesel prices the government has further increased the hardships of the common people, burdening them to fill the coffers," Lallu said.

A report from Gorakhpur said Congress workers held a protest march from Golghar to town hall.

Congress district president of Gorakhpur, Rakesh Yadav, said since the BJP came to power, people are being exploited with the price of essential commodities continuously rising.

We demand that the fuel price hike be rolled back, Yadav said.

Petrol and diesel prices in Uttar Pradesh were hiked by Rs 2.5 and Re 1 respectively from Monday midnight as the government increased Value Added Tax.