HYDERABAD: Congress leaders staged a novel protest on Thursday by holding a mock funeral procession in the Old City to condemn the increase in LPG and fuel prices while demanding that the Union government withdraw the hike as it is adding to the burden on the people who are under pressure due to rising inflation.
Led by Hyderabad District Congress Committee president Sameer Waliullah, the Congress leaders carried placards with slogans protesting the spike in the prices of cooking gas and fuel, and held up photographs of Union minister Smriti Irani with the message, “where are you Cylinderella?,” a reference to her protests against the LPG price hikes during the UPA era.
They questioned the silence of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao over rising inflation and why the BRS government was not lowering the value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel.
"The growing cost of gas cylinders made it harder for the middle class to cope with the rising inflation. They are compelled to spend a larger percentage of their income on essential items such as cooking gas, which leaves them with very little money to meet other expenses. As a result, the middle class is reducing their spending and finding it challenging to make ends meet," he said.
