By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal Monday held rallies, demonstrations and meetings in different parts of the state, in intensified protests against the diesel price hike and the restriction on the supply of subsidised cooking gas cylinders.
In Bhubaneswar, nearly 4,000 party workers and leaders went in procession, shouting slogans against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, senior BJD leader Sanjay Das Burma told IANS.
Many of the protestors were holding empty cooking gas cylinders on their heads to demonstrate the burden that the limited supply of subsidised cooking fuel would pose.
The protestors gathered in front of the office of the additional district magistrate and submitted a memorandum to the prime minister through him, seeking complete rollback of the central government decision, Burma said, adding that BJD activists staged similar demonstrations in front of government offices at all district headquarter towns.
“The hike in diesel price and the restriction of supply of gas cylinders will affect the kitchen of all sections of people, including middle and lower middle classes. The BJD will intensify the protests further and take the agitation to the grassroots. The protests will continue till the government rolls back its decision,” Burma said.
The central government Thursday announced a hike in diesel price by Rs.5 a litre and capped supply of subsidised cooking gas cylinders to six per family per year. The decisions came into effect midnight Thursday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance and the left parties have separately called a strike Sep 20 to protest the hike in diesel price, the cap on subsidised cooking gas cylinders, and the later decision of the government to allow up to 51 percent Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail.
The BJD has announced that it would not join the Sep 20 protest as several parts of Odisha would be celebrating Nuakhai or the famous harvest festival on that day.
Besides, although the state’s ruling party has been opposing the diesel price hike and the restrictions on the supply of subsidised cooking gas, it has still to take a clear stance on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail.