Govts swindling people: Cong

‘Bring petroleum products under GST’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,KERALA:: 26/09/2017:: Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala addressing a dharna organised by the UDF before AGS office in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday in protest against the spiralling prices of petroleume products...........Photo:S.Gopakumar.

Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday accused the Central and State governments of swindling the people by steeply hiking prices of petroleum products at a time when crude oil prices were ruling low.

Inaugurating a KPCC-sponsored twin-agitation against the Central and State governments in front of the Secretariat and the adjacent Accountant General’s Office here, Mr. Chennithala said the Prime Minister and Finance Minister had admitted to the fact that the country was facing an economic slowdown. The Centre’s financial management was a disaster, with the demonetisation of high-value currency and the Goods and Services Tax contributing a lot to the slowdown.

The KPCC has called for a dharna in the capital and in front of Collectorates in the other 13 districts to protest against the Central and State governments’ refusal to provide relief to the people by taking steps to reduce prices, besides demanding inclusion of petroleum products under GST.

KPCC president M.M. Hassan said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had criticised former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he had hiked fuel prices. But these two were now smug about the prices.

State tax

Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said his government had given up tax revenue.

He condemned the LDF government’s attitude towards the demand to forego additional tax revenue from petrol and diesel.