Soaring Fuel Prices Set Odisha's Political Arena On Fire With Bandh Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: With the Congress calling for a State-wide bandh over the unabated rise in the prices of fuel tomorrow, the BJP and BJD too have jumped to the arena slinging allegations and counter-allegations over the situation.

Holding BJP responsible for the skyrocketing fuel prices in the State and the country, the ruling BJD has targeted the saffron party.

At a press conference in Jajpur's Jarka, BJD general secretary Sanjay Das Burma trained guns at the BJP and said, "The prices of petrol and diesel have jumped seven times after the announcement of Union Budget-2021 and 17 times in the last one and half month."

"The frequent hike of fuel price is really unfortunate. BJD strongly opposes such move," Das Burma added.

Reacting to Das Burma's statement, BJP MP Ashwini Baishnab said the Odisha government must clarify how much tax it is getting from fuel before its ruling party tries to blame the Centre.

"We should analyse how much tax State and Centre are getting. I request both of them to reduce tax so that everyone will be benefited," Baishnab stated.

Meanwhile, the State unit of Congress is set to observe a state-wide shutdown tomorrow protesting the rising prices of petro fuels. The party has blamed BJP government at Centre and the BJD in the State for the abnormal rise in petrol prices during the last one month.

In view of the shutdown, the School and Mass Education Department has announced closure of the schools in the State on Monday. Similarly, all colleges and universities across Odisha will remain closed owing to the State-wide bandh.

Moreover, all private buses in the State will stay off-road from 6 am to 1 pm on Monday due to the bandh. However, the services will resume after 1 pm.

(Edited By Suryakant Jena)