BATHINDA: Bathinda Member Parliament, Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday strongly opposed the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s proposed hike in Petroleum products on the basis of the Government-appointed Kirit Parikh Committee Report, which had recommended a whopping price increase of Rs. 5 per litre in diesel.

Rs. 4 per litre in kerosene, and Rs. 250 in LPG cylinder with immediate effect. Coming down heavily on the government's  proposed move, while speaking to media-persons in Jajjal village after addressing a series of Sangat Darshan in Talwandi Sabo constituency, Harsimrat said the move was “unacceptable” and “atrocious”  as it would badly hit  the common man. She vowed to oppose the decision tooth and nail.

Targeting the economist in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she termed the food and petrol price hikes “a conspiracy of the Congress against aam aadmi, which is totally unjustified and is nothing but loot of the common man.” Under the guise of decontrol, a cartel of oil companies was raising the prices under the aegis of the government. She said that the Center’s argument that oil companies were losing on account of a rise in international prices was “wrong and bogus.”

 “The proposed decision on the Petroleum products exposes the anti-people and anti-democratic face of the UPA government. The government goes on increasing the price even as the people facing the brunt of already sky-rocketing price -rise due to anti-people policies of the UPA. How can a common man buy onions at Rs. 100 per kg?” she asked.  Congress had brought only inflation, Corruption, scams running in lakhs of crores and unemployment to the country, she added.

    Adding that SAD –BJP government had always given its support to people of all the classes and mostly the poor she said, “The Below Poverty Line (BPL) card holders with blue cards will be now given wheat at Rs 1 per kg. instead of Rs 4 while more new BPL cards would also be issued soon , besides more employment under  various schemes.”

Mrs. Harsimrat Badal visited villages Bhagi Bander, Bander Pati, Laleana, Jajjal, Phulokhari, Gattwali, Malkana and Teona Pujarian and addressed the grievances of the public on the spot besides disbursing the developmental grants of lakhs of rupees to these villages.