BJP asks party ruled states to cut down on taxes to counter fuel price hike

New Delhi/Patna, June 5 : Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked governments in BJP ruled states to cut down on taxes to counter fuel price hike.

Addressing a Press Conference, the party's spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that the party's President had asked the Chief Ministers of all the BJP ruled states to cut down on taxes to counter inflation.

"The national President of the Bhartiya Janata Party Rajnath Singh has personally spoken to the Chief Ministers of all BJP ruled states, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Karnataka to cut down on taxes in whatever possible way," said Rudy.

The communist ruled West Bengal has already announced a ten per cent cut in sales tax on petrol and diesel while many other states are following suit to offset the fuel price hike.

In a scathing attack the BJP on Wednesday described the Central government's decision to raise fuel price as 'leashing economic terror on the nation'.

Meanwhile, protesters in Patna took out a procession to register their protest against the Government's unpopular move.

The protesters burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also demonstrated a car being pulled by donkeys to drive home their point.

They also shouted slogans against United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and stressed that it is the common man who is hit the hardest by the Government's inflationary measures.

"We have taken out this procession to protest against price hike of fuels that has been implemented midnight today. We also burnt the effigy of PM Manmohan Singh to register our protest," said Kumar Vijaydeep, a protester.

The Central government on Wednesday announced the increase in the prices of petrol and diesel by about ten per cent and a cylinder of cooking gas by 17 per cent, the biggest hike in fuel prices in 12 years.

The government after deliberating for more than a fortnight announced more than expected fuel price hike to partly curb losses of its state-owned refiners and fuel retailers.

The Government raised prices for petrol by five rupees, diesel by three rupees and cooking gas cylinder by 50 rupees.

The hike has triggered a political backlash across the political spectrum with political parties saying that it would stoke further inflation, which has already badly hurt the common man.

ANI