Congress MP B. Manickam Tagore on Monday flayed the Centre for “showing partiality against Tamil Nadu which was badly affected by floods”. “No Union Ministers, not even those who hail from Tamil Nadu, have visited the flood-affected areas like Chennai and Cuddalore. This only showed that the Union government was partial,” the Virudhunagar MP said.
He was talking to reporters here after taking part in a padayatra from Kamaraj statue near Virudhunagar municipal office to Teppakulam through old bus stand as a mark of protest against the Centre for its anti-people policies. “When the BJP had increased taxes from ₹9 on diesel in 2014 to ₹32 now, members of Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP should know whom they should protest against,” he said.
Stating that nowhere in the country the BJP was protesting against the high fuel prices, he said the protest organised by State party unit was ridiculous.
He said huge photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were put up outside every petrol bunk. If State BJP president K. Annamalai was really concerned about the sufferings of the people due to high fuel price, he should ask the Prime Minister and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to reduce the Central taxes on petrol and diesel, he said.
“People were aware of who has increased fuel prices and the BJP cannot fool the people of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Party MLA G. Ashokan and other leaders like Sreeraja Chokkar, Balakrishnasamy and Veilumuthu took part in the padayatra.
