Bhubaneswar : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday staged demonstrations in Odisha against the hike in petrol and diesel prices in the state.
Party leaders demanded immediate rollback of the hike imposed by the Odisha government, which increased value added tax (VAT) on the two petroleum products.
“The state government, which had earlier blamed the Centre for raising the fuel price, has raised the price. We demand immediate withdrawal of VAT from petrol and diesel,” told the BJP’s state unit president K.V. Singhdeo to media persons.
However, the government justified the move.
“The Centre has increased the excise duty on the two items after the price of petrol and diesel fell in the international market. The Odisha government has imposed the lowest tax on petrol and diesel compared with other states,” said ruling Biju Janata Dal spokesperson Pratap Jena.