Opposition leaders protest against rising prices of commodities, LPG price hike inside Parliament premise

The Congress on Tuesday held a protest over the issue of price rise in the Parliament complex in New Delhi, a day after the Goods and Services Tax on packaged food items such as milk and curd came into force.

Besides Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, some opposition MPs including Supriya Sule of the NCP, Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi party and Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena were present during the protest which was held in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament complex.

Raising slogans against the government, the Congress members demanded a rollback in the prices of LPG.

They also held banners and placards which read that "high inflation, continuous price rise badly affecting common people".

Congress MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha participated in the protest. They included leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

"The imposition of five per cent GST on curd, paneer and other commodities of daily use will hurt the common people. We will protest inside the House also," Kharge said.

Hindustan Times quoted Kharge as saying, "We will fight it tomorrow, will protest at the Gandhi statue and also inside as well as outside the House. We have appealed to all parties to fight against price rise, GST hike."

The Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said opposition members led by his party wanted a discussion on price rise and GST but the government did not allow and the speaker adjourned the House till 2 pm.

"We will raise the same when the House reconvenes. Why is the government afraid about holding the discussion," he asked.

The protest came a day after GST on essential items including curd and paneer came into force.

The protest also came after the Rajya Sabha secretariat issued a circular saying no protest or demonstration will be allowed inside Parliament complex.

The opposition had protested against the issue of the circular, saying the voice of democracy is being throttled.