Advani thanks people for success of shutdown
By IANSMonday, July 5, 2010
NEW DELHI - National Democratic Alliance (NDA) working chairman L.K. Advani Monday thanked the people of the country for making the nationwide shutdown against the fuel price hike an “unprecedented success”.
“The NDA thanks the people of the country for making today’s Bharat Bandh an unprecedented success,” Advani said in a statement released here.
He also demanded an immediate rollback of the price hike.
“Today’s protest having been focused mainly on the totally unjustified hike in prices of petroleum products, the NDA demands that in deference to the wishes of the people, the price of petrol and diesel be rolled back forthwith,” the statement said.
He also said that never before in the history of political agitations in independent India had so many opposition parties combined to register a joint protest on a single issue.
“The result has been a remarkably powerful protest both in terms of geographical spread, as well as in terms of spontaneity,” he added.
On June 25, a ministerial panel, headed by Mukherjee, had lifted the pricing controls on petroleum. As a result, petrol went up by Rs.3.50 a litre. The government hiked the prices of diesel by Rs.2 a litre, kerosene - known as the poor man’s fuel and traditionally spared during periodic fuel price hikes - by Rs.3 a litre and cooking gas by Rs.35 per cylinder.
The call for a nationwide shutdown was given by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA as well as the Left parties.
