Opposition shutdown pure sensationalism, says Congress

NEW DELHI - The Congress Monday slammed the opposition for the nationwide shutdown and charged it with indulging in “pure sensationalism”.

Congress party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that people were asking if the shutdown was in their interest or against it.

“Does it (bandh) do anything constructive, solve any problem. Has the opposition offered any constructive suggestions?” Singhvi asked.

He said the opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left, could have raised their issues through the media or in parliament.

“It was indulgence in pure sensationalism,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court had declared bandhs unconstitutional in a 1998 judgement, holding that fundamental rights of people as a whole cannot be subservient to the fundamental rights of a section of people.

He said that a state-sponsored shutdown was even more unconstitutional.

The strike call was “an anti-public interest activity masquerading as a public interest measure”.

Singhvi said the huge subsidy given to meet under-recoveries of oil companies was paid by the government. “They (the opposition) are not applying their mind. They are trying to create sensationalism.”

Singhvi said that kerosene saw a four-fold increase during the National Democratic Alliance government while petrol prices were increased 25 times.

“The increase (by the UPA government) is minimalist, most reasonable and softens the impact of under-recoveries,” he said.

The spokesman said the prices of kerosene had been increased for the first time since the United Progressive Alliance government came to power.

The dawn-to-dusk shutdown call Monday was given by the National Democratic Alliance, the Left and several other non-United Progressive Alliance parties against rising prices of essential commodities and the hike in prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas.