KANNUR
Sunny Joseph, MLA, on Monday said that the Central and State governments were competing to squeeze money out of people by raising taxes. He was inaugurating a march and a dharna in front of the head post office led by the District Congress Committee (DCC) as part of the nationwide agitation by the Congress against the policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre and the LDF government in the State, which were accused of making the lives of the people miserable by increasing petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices. Mr. Joseph said that the BJP leaders were the ones who staged bullock carts protests during the Congress rule when there was a slight rise in the fuel price. With the BJP coming to power, fuel prices had skyrocketed. The price was increasing day by day. “When prices of crude oil came down internationally, the prices of fuel here increased steadily. What kind of economics is this?” he wondered. After the elections in five States, petroleum prices had been raised 10 times in the past 11 days, Mr. Joseph said. The rise in fuel prices had led to a sharp rise in the prices of essential commodities as well as the cost of building materials. The LDF government in the State was adopting the same policy as the Central government. “When the Central government increased prices during the Oommen Chandy government, the people of the State were relieved by the reduction of taxes here. But the Pinarayi Vijayan government is not showing any leniency in this regard and is squeezing the people,” he said It was evidence of how anti-people an elected government can be at the Centre and in the State, he said. DCC president Martin George presided over the event. Mayor T.O. Mohanan and others spoke.
