On Thursday, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) mustered citizens at 2,000 localities across the State to press the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government to curb the spiralling fuel and cooking gas prices.
The protests centred on homes and neighbourhoods. The agitators raised slogans against the Centre. KPCC president K. Sudhakaran inaugurated a rally in Kannur. His family joined in.
Mr. Sudhakaran said the Centre had dismantled the fuel price control mechanism. It had failed to cushion the impact of the rising fuel cost on the household budget. The COVID-19 devastated economy now confronted runaway inflation.
The State government could soften the blow by forsaking the local levy on fuel and LPG. Last fiscal, the government had collected ₹5,000 crore as the provincial duty from fuel sales.
However, the Left Democratic Front government had turned a blind eye to the people’s plight. Inflation had upended the lives of ordinary folk. Instead, the government pursued quixotic mega-development projects to push Kerala into the abyss of irredeemable debt.
It had caused the price of essentials to rise uncontrollably. Kerala was the worst-hit State, being a predominantly consumer economy. The State depended on food-growing regions in other parts of the country to supply essentials, including rice, edible oil, sugar and pulses.
The LDF had further betrayed the people by hiking transportation charges. A steep rise in water and power charges was in the offing.
Congress Working Committee member and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy led the protest at the KPCC headquarters at Indira Bhavan. He said the Centre had wrung ₹26 lakh crore as fuel tax from citizens laid low by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan inaugurated the Mahila Congress’s protest at Nandavanam. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala led the protest in Alappuzha. UDF convener M.M. Hassan led the demonstrations in Kasaragod.
