Congress workers staged a unique protest in Jalandhar against the repeated increase in petrol and diesel prices, using a horse-cart carrying a motorcycle, an LPG cylinder and an effigy bearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photograph to target the BJP-led Centre over rising inflation.
The protest was led by Congress MLA from Jalandhar Cantonment Pargat Singh, who accused the Centre of burdening the middle class and common citizens with repeated fuel price hikes.
The demonstration came after another increase in fuel prices across the country, with petrol reportedly becoming costlier by Rs 2.60 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.70 per litre. Congress leaders claimed this was the fourth hike in the last 10 days.
During the protest, Congress workers were briefly seen holding party flags upside down. However, after media cameras captured the visuals, the workers quickly corrected the flags.
Addressing reporters, Pargat Singh alleged that inflation had worsened following tensions involving Iran and the United States and said repeated hikes in fuel prices were affecting household budgets.
“When elections were underway, fuel prices were not being increased. As soon as the elections ended, rates started going up again,” he claimed.
The Congress MLA said middle-class families were already struggling to manage daily expenses, and the increase in fuel and LPG prices had severely impacted kitchen budgets. He recalled that during the previous Congress government, VAT on fuel had been reduced by Rs 5 and urged the Punjab government to similarly reduce VAT to provide relief to consumers.
Pargat Singh also referred to crude oil imports from Russia after the COVID pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, claiming India had purchased oil at discounted rates, but ordinary citizens had not received the benefit.
Apart from the fuel price issue, the Congress leader targeted the Punjab government over the recent controversy in Kapurthala jail, alleging corruption within the administration and misuse of police machinery.
He alleged that privileged inmates in Punjab’s “hi-tech” jails were receiving illegal mobile phone facilities and termed the situation a serious threat to state security.
The MLA further criticized the Aam Aadmi Party government over frequent power cuts in Punjab, alleging that promises of uninterrupted electricity supply had turned out to be “false promises.”
“Law and order in Punjab is deteriorating day by day,” he claimed, while referring to the recent killing of a police official in Amritsar. He said the incident reflected growing insecurity even among police personnel.
Pargat Singh also launched a political attack on the BJP, calling the party “a danger to the country” and urging opposition parties under the INDIA bloc to unite beyond ideological differences to take on the ruling party at the national level.