Congress holds protest against fuel price hike, property tax in Jammu

Jammu, Feb 25: J&K Congress on Thursday staged a protest in Jammu against the Government of India (GoI) over the “incessant hike” in the fuel prices besides imposing property tax in Jammu and Kashmir.

Carrying placards denouncing the “unprecedented and unjustified” hike, the Congress leaders and workers chanted slogans against the BJP government in Satwari chowk Jammu and demanded immediate rollback of the tax orders.

They lashed out at the Centre over the rise in petrol and diesel prices and claimed that the excise duty on diesel has been hiked by 820 per cent and petrol by 258 per cent in the last six years.

The Congress leaders also targeted the government for a steep hike in the prices of LPG cylinders and accused it of “looting” poor people by raising fuel prices.

“The incessant hike in fuel prices is an additional burden on the common people who are at the limit of their woes owing to the Covid-19 induced lockdown for months,” they said.

He said the poor and the middle class have been severely hit by the recent hikes.

They said that BJP’s claim of providing “pro-people” governance stands exposed as the Central government has allegedly failed miserably to address the issues affecting the general public.

They also raised slogans to immediately roll back property tax in Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir said that Congress has already chalked out protest demonstrations up to 30 March in which people as well as leaders of Congress would attend.

He said that the road tax, transport tax, property tax, and other taxes on fuels have made a life of people in J&K and outside hell and it is now “tax terrorism”.

“Government is now terrorizing people if you won’t pay tax, you will face consequences and we are on roads for terrorising people,” Mir said. “The government has failed to provide basic facilities to the people but have succeeded in laving taxes only”. —(KNO)