All the non-Congress parties in Bihar and Jharkhand on Friday protested the hike in the price of diesel and the restrictions clamped on subsidised LPG cylinders, demanding an immediate rollback of both the moves.
Both chief minister Nitish Kumar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan spoke strongly against the UPA government’s moves. The BJP, JD(U) and the Left parties took to the streets in several towns in Bihar and Jharkhand.
The JMM and AJSU, both ruling allies in Jharkhand’s BJP-led government, and the Opposition JVM also took out protest marches.
Senior BJP leaders in Bihar like state unit president C.P. Thakur and several BJP legislators attended street protests in Patna, including a bicycle march by the MLAs that saw sizeable turnout of ordinary protesters. The effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were burnt by the BJP protesters at some sites.
“It is nothing but a cruel joke with the people as they have been fighting for survival amid a high inflation rate,” said Mr Kumar, adding that the JD(U) would take the issue before the people.
“Hike in diesel price will badly affect crores of farmers as farming will get costlier. The hike should be withdrawn fast,” Mr Kumar said.
Mr Yadav said the UPA government had ignored the advice of the RJD and other parties against the hike in diesel and LPG prices. “This is not the right time for these price hikes. They (the UPA government) say these moves are necessary for the economy. The USA is strengthening its economy by sucking people’s blood,” said Mr Yadav.
Associations of bus and truck owners in both Bihar and Jharkhand hinted at a hike of fares by at least 20 per cent in view of the diesel price hike if the move was not rolled back. In Patna, the auto-rickshaw owners announced a hike ranging between `1 and `5.