Bhubaneswar: With the nearing of Panchayat polls, the governing BJD is once again going to lock its horns with the BJP-led Central Government. The governing party has decided to stage protests over the rising LPG cylinder price from November 22 to 24.
Senior BJD Lawmaker Pramila Mallick along with legislators Pranab Balabantray, Byomkesh Ray and Debi Ranjan Tripathy have jointly made the announcement about the protest here at a press conference.
Attacking the Centre for raising the price of the cooking gas cylinder by 70 per cent during last three and half years, Mallick said the 14 kg LPG gas cylinder which was available at Rs549 in 2016-2017 has gone up to Rs 928 now, almost a hike of nearly 70 per cent.
“We are not saying this, the Union Petroleum Minister himself has given this information in the Parliament,” she said.
The much hyped Ujjala scheme of the Union Government has miserably failed in the State and there has been a drastic reduction of in the number of refilling of cylinders due to the sharp rise of the prices beyond the capacity of a lower middle class people in the State, the BJD leader said.
She said the BJD had urged the centre to reduce the prices of the petrol, diesel and cooking gas and announced that it would intensify the agitations if the centre failed to reduce the hike in oil and cooking gas.
Ms.Mallick further said since the government did not consider the demand to reduce the prices of the LPG gas, the party decided to protest against the unprecedented hike in the prices of LPG gas.
The BJD had urged the Centre to reduce the prices of the petrol, diesel and cooking gas and announced that it would intensify the agitations if the centre failed to reduce the hike in oil and cooking gas. However, the Centre did not listen to the plea of the women of the State, she added.
Therefore, the BJD has decided to resort to the protest path, the BJD leaders said.
All three frontal organizations of the BJD, Biju Mahila Janata Dal, Biju Yuva Janata Dal and the Biju Chhatra Janata Dal will also participate in the demonstrations.
They said the party has decided to hold protest dharna and demonstrations before the offices of three revenue divisional commissioners (RDCs) zonal from November 22 to November 24.
The activists of the three wings will organise demonstration, dharna and gherao in front of the offices of three RDCs. They will launch agitation before the office of RDC (Central) at Cuttack on November 22, at RDC (Northern) in Sambalpur on November 23 and RDC (Southern) in Berhampur on November 24.
On the same day also the demonstrations would be oraganized in all the blocks coming under the concerned RDC division, the leaders announced.
They said never in the past the prices of LPG gas cylinder has been hiked by 70 per cent in three years .The tall claims of the BJP government that there had been a rise of 98 per cent in the use of cylinders after the introduction of Ujjwala scheme has been countered by the National Family Health Survey and the CAG report, the BJD leaders said.