Congress to call Bharat Bandh over fuel prices

New Delhi: The Congress has decided to call a nationwide Bandh on September 10 over the issue of rising fuel prices.

Announcing the decision, the party’s communications in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “The Congress party has decided to give a call for a Bharat Bandh on September 10, Monday, in order to highlight the Rs 11 lakh crore fuel loot and to demand an immediate reduction in Central excise duty and excessive VAT in the state.” The Congress has also asked other Opposition parties and civil society groups to join their protest against the government.

Mr Surjewala said the Congress demands that petrol and diesel should be brought within the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)  so that the “common man whose budget has gone haywire is provided with the requisite relief.”

At the time of the GST rollout, the Congress had demanded that fuel prices should be brought under the ambit of GST. The Congress on its Twitter handle has put out videos of senior BJP leaders who when in Opposition were targeting the then-Prime Minister Dr Man-mohan Singh for the rising the prices of fuel during the UPA’s tenure. The Congress aims to build a narrative around the price rise in a manner similar to what the BJP had done before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has also asked its frontal organisations to gear up for the nationwide agitation. The surge in fuel prices is largely attributed to the rise in crude oil prices and high excise duty in the country. The recent slump in the rupee has also lifted the import cost of crude oil, subsequently affecting the fuel prices.

On Wednesday, finance minister Arun Jaitley had said that there was no need for a “knee-jerk” reaction to the risi-ng prices of global crude oil