the goan I network
PANAJI
Congress leaders on Thursday rode a horse carriage to protest the hike in fuel prices.
The novel form of protest saw Congress president Girish Chodankar, Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar and MLA Aleixo Reginaldo riding atop the specially procured horse carriage around the central areas of Panaji before finally submitting a memorandum before the North Goa Collector protesting the hike in fuel prices.
In the letter to the CM, a copy of which was handed over to the North Goa Collector, the party expressed its angst against the “continued spiralling of fuel prices which have been adversely affecting the economy and the life of the common citizen.”
“We condemn the callous response, rather the absence of any considered response of local or central government, to this uncalled-for price rise and it’s life-threatening impact on the common man. The decision to increase the fuel prices has exposed the governmental policies as being anti-people and most insensitive,” the party said in the letter.
The party recalled how the PM has been speaking of ‘acche din’ which they say have now been “exposed as pure hollow statements only to cheat the electorate of the country.”
“Manohar Parrikar too in the past had made tall statements and promised to freeze the price of petrol to Rs 60 per litre. But it may be seen now that the prices of fuel have spiralled out of control and beyond the reach of the common man. Thus the statements of Parrikar are exposed as hollow and only made to cheat the people of Goa,” the letter signed by Kavlekar and Chodankar said.
The party demanded immediate roll-back of fuel prices so as to bring much-needed respite to the people. They further demanded that fuel prices be kept within the reach of the common man and as such the increase in fuel prices must be rolled back forthwith.
“We, therefore, demand the reversal of price rise of fuel with immediate effect and also bring fuel under GST failing which we shall be constrained to agitate more vigorously in the interest of the common man,” the letter reads.
