Opposition CPI-M led Left Democratic Front in Kerala on Wednesday gave a call for dawn-to-dusk hartal in the state on Thursday to protest the steepest ever increase in petrol price.
"This (the price hike) is a cruel blow on the people of the country who were already reeling under the pressure of steep price rise," LDF convenor Vaikom Viswan said in a statement here tonight.
He urged all sections of the society to support the protest. In a separate statement, the BJP also called a hartal in the state for tomorrow protesting the Rs 7.5 per litre hike announced by the oil companies. Essential services like milk supply, media, hospital would be exempted from the hartal.