Jayalalithaa leads fuel price hike protest

Chennai, June 12: Taking to the streets as leader of the opposition on a public issue, AIADMK supremo and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today led a state-wide demonstration against oil price hike effected by the UPA Government at the Centre.

The AIADMK General Secretary, who also shared the dais with leaders of her alliance parties for the first time, castigated the Centre for placing unbearable burden on the people and demanded complete withdrawal of the price hike, the sixth since the formation. the UPA government.

She said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram were both foreign educated and looked upon as economic experts.

''They talk only about economics, but they don't know anything about the hardships of poor people,'' she said, while leading the demonstration in front of a post office at Memorial Hall here.

Ms Jayalalithaa said the Centre had waited till the Assembly elections in five states were over and had now ''pounced on the people'' with the price hike.

Dismissing the state government's reduction of sales tax on the incremental increase of diesel price as an ''eye wash'' and ''an act to deceive people,'' she asked whether Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was prepared to reduce bus fare as promised in his party's election manifesto.

Mr Karunanidhi had promised in the election manifesto that he would bring down the bus fare in the state on par with railway charges, she pointed out.

UNI