Roll back price hike: Virbhadra to Sonia Gandhi

With an eye on the Assembly elections scheduled for later this year, former Himachal Pradesh CM and state Congress chief Virbhadra Singh on Monday demanded rollback of hike in diesel price and also conveyed his displeasure over the Centre's decision to put a six-cylinder cap on LPG.

Virbhadra, shot off a letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi demanding that two contentious issues be "reviewed in the context of Himachal Pradesh, which is a special category state". "The recent hike in the diesel price was admittedly unavoidable, but it will have a spiralling effect on prices of all the commodities and transport facilities. There is a need for reviewing the decision and granting special subsidy to the hill state," Virbhadra said, demanding 12 subsidised LPG cylinders for the state.

Justifying the demand, Virbhadra said, "In the difficult terrains of the hill state, roads are the only means of communication in the absence of railways, water and air transport. The diesel rate hike will affect the prices of the commodities."

ALSO READ

Make morally relevant films, President tells moviemakers

If Congress wins here, we will make use of it in Delhi, says Dikshit

Dalits, Muslims keep Congress on the edge

Will Mysore do a Mangalore?