Congress announces fresh protests against price hike

Congress' General Secretary Communication Jairam Ramesh said in a press statement that the nationwide agitation held by the party on Aug 5 "against the Modi government’s anti-people policies", strongly resonated with the people.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s desperate attempt to tar legitimate protest as 'black magic' only highlights the BJP government’s insecurity about its failure to control rampaging inflation and unemployment," the Congress said.

Ramesh said the Congress party will take this fight forward with a series of protests against the price rise and unemployment in the coming weeks.

The party will organise interactive meetings called “Mehangai Chaupal” at mandis, retail markets and other locations in all assembly constituencies from Aug 17-23.

These will culminate in a “Mehangai Par Halla Bol” rally on Aug 28 at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, which will be addressed by senior Congress leaders.

Pradesh Congress Committees will simultaneously hold “Mehangai Par Halla Bol - Chalo Dilli” events at the state-, district-, and block-levels.

"The people of India are suffering because of the Modi government’s economic mismanagement.

"Inflation is being exacerbated by higher taxes on essential goods like curd, buttermilk, and packaged food grains, while the transfer of public assets to crony capitalists and the introduction of the misguided Agnipath Scheme are making a bad employment situation worse," Ramesh said.

"The Indian National Congress will continue to spread awareness about these anti-people policies among the people and increase pressure on the BJP government to change course," he added.

On Aug 5, Congress leaders held protests across the country at several locations.

In Delhi, Congress MPs, dressed in black, protested at Parliament and attempted a march to Rashtrapati Bhawan led by party leader Rahul Gandhi. Congress MPs were detained at Vijay Chowk.

Another protest was held at the party headquarters here which was led by Priyanka Gandhi and other senior leaders, who were detained outside the Congress office.

In an apparent dig at Congress, Modi said no matter how much “black magic” Congress does, people will not trust the party again.