The Kaithal Congress staged a protest over the hike in prices of petrol, diesel, CNG and cooking gas in the city on Friday. Party workers and leaders displayed gas cylinders on a cart and raised slogans against the BJP government.
Before the protest march, the party workers and leaders staged a dharna at the Shaheed Smarak. They handed over a memorandum for the President of India through the Deputy Commissioner, demanding a rollback of the recent hike in petrol, diesel, CNG and LPG prices, reducing excessive excise duty, formulating a concrete policy for price stability in fuel, providing real relief to farmers, labourers, small shopkeepers, auto drivers, and common citizens suffering from inflation.
Congress state president Rao Narendra Singh and Congress general secretary and MP Randeep Singh Surjewala led the protest, while Rajya Sabha MP Karamvir Singh Boudh, Kaithal MLA Aditya Surjewala, former MLA Jasbir Malour, former CPS Sultan Singh Jadola, District Congress president Ramchandra Gurjar Dhand, along with other senior leaders and workers, were present during the protest.
Rao Narendra Singh said the BJP government has completely failed. Inflation, unemployment and paper leaks have darkened the future of the youth. Most distressingly, instead of providing jobs to the local youth of Haryana, outsiders from other states are being given employment.
Due to paper leaks in NEET and other examinations, thousands of youth are being forced to commit suicide in despair. “We have come to the streets against this injustice and submitted a memorandum in the name of the President. The government should take immediate cognizance of these issues,” he added.
Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala said that in just eight days, petrol and diesel prices have been hiked by a total of Rs 3.90 per litre. After an increase of Rs 3 on 15 May and Rs 0.90 on 19 May, petrol has reached Rs 99 per litre and diesel Rs 91.86 per litre. In many places, petrol has crossed Rs 100 per litre.
He said CNG was also attacked twice —Rs 2 per kg on 15 May and Rs 1 per kg on 17 May — taking the price to Rs 91.50 per kg. This has badly affected auto-taxi drivers, middle-class families, and small traders.
Surjewala said the price of a 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder was increased by Rs 993 in one go — from Rs 2,078.50 to Rs 3,071.50, an increase of nearly 50%. The 5 kg small cylinder also saw a hike of Rs 261. The price of domestic cooking gas cylinders has now reached an average of Rs 915 (up to Rs 921 in Gurugram and Rs 953 in Sirsa).
Despite this, gas is not available in the market, and long queues can be seen outside gas agencies. Cylinders are being sold in black at Rs 2,000–2,500.
He accused the BJP government of earning a profit of Rs 43 lakh crore from petrol and diesel between 2014 and 2025 under the Modi government — an average daily loot of Rs 1,000 crore. An average excise duty of Rs 19.70 per litre on petrol and Rs 15.50 per litre on diesel was collected.
