Adoptinga unique approach to highlight the spiralling fuel prices, all CongressMinisters and legislators on Monday took to the roads on bicycles and furiouslypedalled to the Maharashtra Legislature on the opening day of the Budget Session,here.
Leadingthe bicycle rally, state Congress President Nana Patole and city party chiefBhai Jagtap attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre of"looting" the hard-earned money of the people by hiking taxes on fuelwhich have resulted in zooming prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas.
"Thegovernment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made life difficult for thepeople. Though the prices of crude oil in the international markets is at arecord low, the Centre is fleecing the masses by the taxes on fuel,"Patole said.
Hesaid that excluding taxes, petrol costs around Rs 32.72 per litre and diesel Rs33.46 per litre, but the Centre has imposed excise duties of 820 and 258 percent respectively which has shot the prices of the two essential fuels to thecurrent exorbitant levels.
Similarly,Jagtap said that the Modi government has "crossed all limits ofshamelessness" by another hike of Rs 25 in the price of cooking gas (LPG)to now Rs 825 per cylinder which has created huge distress to the ordinarymasses.
Besides,Patole and Jagtap said that Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan rubbedsalt on the wounds of the people by claiming that the fuel price hike was dueto the winter season.
Demandingthat the Central taxes on fuel be rolled back, Revenue Minister BalasahebThorat said that the BJP leaders screaming hoarse over the fuel prices hikebefore 2014, "but today, these same leaders are looting the peopleblatantly with daily price hikes".
"TheModi government is deaf and blind to the pain and sufferings of the people.Through this bicycle rally, we are conveying the people's distress to theCentre and demand that the fuel taxes be removed forthwith," Thorat said.
Afterpaying homage to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in south Mumbai, majority of theCongress ministers in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and almost all MLAs andMLCs joined the bicycle rally to the Vidhan Bhavan.