RLD to protest petro price hike; demands slashing local taxes

Lucknow, June 9 (UNI) The major ruling party ally in Uttar Pradesh, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), today announced to hold demonstrations to protest hike in petro prices and said it would also ask the state government to cut local taxes on fuel to help the common man.

''We will protest the centre's decision to hike diesel and petrol prices, and also demand the Mulayam Singh Yadav government to slash service tax and state development tax on petro products,'' RLD state unit president Ram Asrey Verma said here.

Mr Verma said RLD workers would hold district level demonstrations on June 13 to protest the hike in fossil fuels.

The ruling Samajwadi Party and Vishwanath Pratap Singh's Jan Morcha Gathbandhan too have announced agitations on June 13. The SP has, in fact, caled for a general strike to protest the hike.

''We will hold the demonstration together on issues common to us.

On other issues (cutting down on local taxes), we will hold separate agitation,'' Mr Verma said in reply to a poser.

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