Hyderabad, May 16: Several political parties in state registered their protest against the petrol price hike on Sunday with the leaders demanding that Congress-led UPA roll back the hike.
They burnt the UPA government in effigy at various places in the state.
CPM and CPI organised separate protest programmes along with other Left parties in city. The BJP city unit also organised a symbolic protest at Narayanguda cross roads.
CPM state secretary BV Raghavalu led the protest at RTC cross roads in which a large number of leaders and cadres from 10 Left parties took part.
The CPM leader demanded that the state government reduce the sales tax on petroleum products as the government is collecting 33 per cent tax in the state. He blamed the UPA for failing to control petrol prices since last year.
“Petrol prices have been hiked nine times. The common man’s life has been made miserable,” he said. He warned of intensifying the agitation if the UPA did not respond positively.
CPI state secretary Dr K Narayana led another protest at Narayanaguda. He arrived at the venue in a cycle- rickshaw and burnt the UPA in effigy.
BJP senior leader and former Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya also led a protest programme at Narayanaguda.
Addressing party workers, the leader came down heavily on the central government on the petrol price hike issue.
He claimed that in the 65 years post independence, no government had dared to increase the petrol prices by Rs 5 per litre.
The nine-times revision of petrol prices in a year has never happened in the history of the country, he claimed.
He demanded the government to withdraw VAT on petroleum products and said the government is collecting Rs 256 crore as VAT from it.
–Agencies