Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders led by Jammu East MLA Yudhvir Sethi and BJP All Cells Incharge Ved Sharma submitted a memorandum at the office of the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, strongly protesting the proposed hike in petrol and diesel prices by the Omar Abdullah-led government in Jammu & Kashmir. The memorandum was received by officials in the absence of the Divisional Commissioner.
The BJP delegation warned that the proposed increase of ₹1 per litre on petrol and ₹2 per litre on diesel would impose an additional financial burden on the common people of Jammu & Kashmir, particularly at a time when the public is already grappling with rising costs of living.
Among those present during the submission of the memorandum included Ashu Mahajan, Convenor BJP Transport Cell, along with Cell Co-Convenors Roshan and Kamalpreet. Senior BJP leaders Sham Langer, K.L. Sharma, Mukherjee Sharma, Balvinder Singh, and Karunesh Gupta were also present.
Speaking on the occasion, Yudhvir Sethi strongly criticized the National Conference government for betraying the promises made to the people during the Assembly elections. He said that the party had assured relief to the common man in its election manifesto, but instead of providing respite, the government is now moving to impose additional taxes on fuel.
Sethi said that any increase in the prices of petrol and diesel has a cascading effect on the entire economy, leading to a rise in transportation costs and eventually increasing the prices of essential commodities and daily-use items. He stated that such anti-people decisions reflect the insensitivity of the government towards the hardships of the common citizens, traders, transporters and working-class families.
Ved Sharma also condemned the proposed price hike and said that the BJP strongly opposes the decision of the Omar Abdullah-led government. He said that such arbitrary decisions without considering their impact on the public reflect the failure of the government to protect the interests of the people.
Ved Sharma warned that the BJP will continue to raise its voice against policies that harm the common citizens and will not allow the government to impose unjustified financial burdens on the people of Jammu & Kashmir.