PANJIM: As a part of ongoing 10-day nationwide agitation launched by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) along with Mahila and Youth Congress Committees protested against the hike in fuel prices and rising inflation.
The Congress members took out a rally from the party office to the North Goa Collector’s Office, here, to register strong opposition against the spiralling rise in price of petrol and diesel and increase in the prices of essential commodities including edible oil and cooking gas.
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GPCC President Girish Chodankar, vice president and Agitational Programme Incharge Altinho Gomes, General Secretary Amarnath Panjikar, Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress President Beena Naik, Goa Pradesh Youth Congress President Adv Varad Mardolkar and South Goa District Congress Committee President Joseph `Joe’ Dias participated in the rally.
Addressing the party functionaries, Chodankar said that the Union government has accepted of collecting Rs 2 lakh crore in the financial year 2021-22 as incremental income from petrol and diesel, excise duties and cess. As of June 2, there were as many as 43 hikes over the year in fuel prices and there were 16 hikes in May.
The government’s tax collection on just petrol and diesel alone has increased 300 per cent in last six years. The impact of the fuel price hike and cooking gas has burdened the common man amid COVID-19 pandemic, Chodankar said demanding that petrol price be slashed to Rs 35.63 per litre and diesel at Rs 38.16 per litre.
The GPCC will also hold a protest march in Panjim on July 17 to highlight the impact of runaway inflations and hike in fuel prices.
The party will also launch signature campaign in front of all petrol pumps across the State during the ongoing nationwide agitational programme involving blocks, districts, GPCC and all frontal organisations, demanding reduction of fuel prices. A memorandum along with the signatures of consumers will be sent to the Centre.
This campaign started from July 5 will continue till August 4.
