Bhubaneswar: Six persons including Odisha Pradesh Youth Congress (OPYC) president Loknath Maharathy were today arrested by police for pulling down a poster of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a petrol pump near Delta square in Bhubaneswar.
Maharathy along with other members of the Youth Congress was protesting fuel price hike by the Centre.
Earlier in the day, the protestors rallied through the streets on their bikes, sloganeering against the price hike. They urged the petrol pump owners in city to remove posters of Modi .
"The agitation will continue till the fuel prices drop. The Modi government before coming to power, had promised about 'Achhe Din' but the situation is anything but that. If the prices are not slashed immediately, all the posters of Narendra Modi in State will be removed," threatened Maharathy.
In reaction to the poster tearing incident, State BJP vice president Sameer Mohanty alleged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of using Congress for his personal gain.
Asking why the Chief Minister was not raising the petrol price hike issue in the GST council meeting, Mohanty said "BJD and Congress together are showing intolerance towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It portrays anti-poor image of both the parties."
On the other hand, BJD spokesperson Amar Satpathy refuted the allegation.
"When did we launch the agitation together? BJD's protest against fuel price hike was observed on April 7 across Odisha. It was observed on April 6 in my own constituency and some other places. Congress only followed our footsteps. Question does not arise of being hand-in -gloves with them in the protest," said Satpathy.