Members of the All India Forward Bloc staged a protest against the hike in fuel prices near the clock tower here on Friday.
They also protested against depriving people of jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in the recent past. Its state secretary P.S. Jayaram said that villagers have been robbed of their income for 15 days in a row now. “It has affected their lives as they depend on the daily wages,” he said.
They demanded steps to reduce the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel. The price of a gas cylinder has been hiked up from ₹450 to ₹1,150 in a span of 10 years. How can poor people manage their expenditure if the prices of such essentials are increased drastically, he asked.
They demanded rollback of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on milk, rice, wheat and pulses which came into effect from July 18.
Their demands included that the government should retain Life Insurance Corporation as a a public sector firm and raised slogans condemning the Central government’s move to privatise the company.
AIFB district president Balu Mayan, district secretary, M. Pasumpon Raja and district treasurer R. Srinivasan were present.
Published - July 22, 2022 05:53 pm IST
