The Centre will soon come out with a plan of action to bring down the prices of petrol and diesel across the country, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah said on Saturday.
“We are also very much concerned over the steep increase in the prices of petrol and diesel and also fall in the value of rupee against dollar. We have understood the anxiety of the people in this regard… We shall soon come out with an action plan,” Shah said at a press conference in Hyderabad.
The BJP president was on a one-day visit to Telangana to kick-start the party’s election campaign with a massive rally at Mahbubnagar later in the evening. He would also meet party functionaries at Shadnagar to give them a roadmap for the ensuring assembly elections in the state, before returning to Delhi in the night.
Shah said the steady increase in prices of petroleum products in the last few days was on account of international market fluctuations in crude oil prices. “At the same time, dollar value is also going up not just compared to rupee, but a host of other currencies of other countries as well. We know the people are agitated and the BJP is also worried over the rising prices,” he said.
Petrol prices have gone up about 6% and diesel prices by 8% in the country since August 1. Petrol price on Saturday touched a new high with Rs 89.01 a litre in Mumbai and Rs 81.63 in Delhi. Diesel was priced at Rs 78.07 in Mumbai and Rs 73.54 in Delhi.
The fuel price rise has become a politically thorny issue for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of assembly polls in Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh later this year and national polls in 2019.
The weaker rupee and soaring fuel prices had united opposition parties to support a Bharat bandh called by the Congress this week.
Shah’s comments appear to be in contrast to statements by some Union ministers who contend fuel prices are beyond the government’s control.
The BJP president ruled out any kind of alliance with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in the ensuing assembly elections. “We do not have any understanding or collusion with the TRS. There is absolutely no confusion in this regard. We shall put up a strong fight against the TRS in the elections with an objective of pulling it down from the power,” he said.
He alleged that TRS president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was also indulging in appeasement politics, like the Congress party.
“He has been opposing celebration of Hyderabad liberation day on September 17 only under pressure from his friendly party, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. He has got the bill passed in the assembly seeking 12 per cent reservations to Muslims and sent it to the Centre only to appease Muslims, knowing fully well that such a bill is unconstitutional and the BJP will strongly oppose reservations on religious basis,” he pointed out.
When it was pointed out that several central ministers and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had praised the Telangana chief minister and his administration, the BJP president said one should understand the context under which the statements were made.
“The Prime Minister had a word of praise for KCR in Lok Sabha while making a comparison with the Chandrababu Naidu government,” he reminded.
On why the BJP had the support of the TRS in the elections for the President, Vice President and Rajya Sabha deputy chairman’s posts, Shah said the TRS had backed the BJP as it was opposing the Congress.
First Published: Sep 15, 2018 16:14 IST
Source: HindustanTimes