JAMMU, Oct 1: Mission Statehood president Sunil Dimple led a protest rally in Jammu against the reported increase of Rs 71 in the price of commercial LPG cylinders and what he described as frequent hikes in petrol, diesel and domestic LPG prices.
Addressing the protesters, Dimple criticised the Central Government over the increase in commercial LPG prices, saying that higher cooking fuel costs during the festive season could have a wider impact on household budgets and businesses.
Dimple also raised concerns over what he alleged was a shortage of LPG cylinders in Jammu and Kashmir and claimed that domestic and commercial cylinders were being sold at significantly higher prices through black marketing. He further criticised the alleged gap of around 25 days in LPG bookings and called for measures to ensure regular availability of cooking gas.
He demanded an immediate rollback of the increase in commercial and domestic LPG prices and urged the government to bring LPG under the Goods and Services Tax (GST). He also called for exemption of taxes and toll-related charges on LPG, petrol and diesel to reduce the burden on consumers.
Dimple claimed that increased commercial LPG costs were affecting eateries, sweet shops, hotels, restaurants, tea stalls and other food businesses, which, according to him, were passing on higher input costs to consumers through increased prices of food items, sweets, bakery products and other commodities.
He appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reconsider the increase in commercial LPG prices and take steps to provide relief to consumers and small businesses.
Dimple also raised concerns over the prices of essential commodities, alleging that food grains, flour, pulses, cooking oil, vegetables and dairy products had become increasingly expensive. He said rising prices of onions, tomatoes, rice, curd, milk and cheese were putting additional pressure on ordinary families.
He warned that continued increases in LPG and fuel prices would lead to further protests and agitation by his organisation.
Among those present during the protest were Minto, HR Gupta, Karan Kumar, Viky, Sanjay, Vishal, Arjun and Anmol, besides several other supporters.