GUWAHATI, Sept 7 - Accusing the NDA government at the Centre of failing to check the recent spurt in prices of petroleum products, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today called upon the people of the State to extend their support to the 'Bharat Bandh' called by the party on September 10.
The Bharat Bandh was called on September 10 to protest against 'skyrocketing' fuel prices and the Centre's reluctance to intervene in this regard.
While the bandh has been called from 9 am to 3 pm across the country, in Assam, the State Congress will, however, observe a 12-hour bandh from 5 to 5 pm.
APCC secretary and spokesperson Rhituparna Konwar said even though international crude oil prices are down, the domestic consumers are forced to pay a high retail price for petrol, diesel and LPG due to the wrong policies of the government.
He said India is supplying petroleum commodities to many countries at prices much lower than what the domestic consumers are paying here.
"The Modi-led government at the Centre has adopted a policy just to help the corporate houses. The government has resorted to crony capitalism. Prices of LPG cylinders have gone up hundred per cent in the last four years and retail prices of petrol and diesel have touched a record high. And yet, the Central government is neither reducing the excise duty nor is it showing any willingness to bring petroleum products under GST to provide succour to the masses," Konwar said.
The Congress has called upon all the opposition parties to extend their support to the Bharat Bandh.
Meanwhile, the Left parties have also called for a nationwide hartal on September 10 against the economic policies of the NDA government and the rise in fuel prices.
The Guwahati city unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has extended its support to the hartal.
The hartal has been called unitedly by the CPI (M), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).
"Unprecedented economic burden is being mounted on the people by the Modi government. The farmers, already groaning under mounting agrarian distress, are witnessing a further escalation of their production cost. This price rise has a cascading all-round inflationary impact. This is also contributing to a further economic slowdown, reducing existing employment. The unprecedented fall in the value of the Indian rupee reflects the deep economic crisis created by the Modi government," said a joint statement by the five Left parties.
Left parties have called upon the people to join the protest in a big way to demonstrate people's rejection of the Modi government and its policies.
