Odisha politics hots-up over oil price

Bhubaneswar, Nov 4: Politics hotted up in Odisha following reduction of the oil price by the Centre and later by the state government. Apparently hesitant to give credit to the rivals, the major three political parties in the state indulged in blame-game. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a reduction in excise duties on petrol and diesel yesterday on the eve of Diwali. As per his announcement, the price of petrol was reduced by Rs 5 per litre while the price of diesel came down by Rs 10 per litre from today morning. {"id":146165,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} Today Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced a reduction in value-added tax(VAT) by Rs 3 on the two fuels. Naveen dubbed it as a Diwali gift for the people of Odisha. Soon after the announcement by Naveen, BJP spokesperson Biranchi Narayan Tripathy said, many of the BJP ruled states have reduced oil prices by Rs 7. So the BJD government in Odisha should have reduced the price at par with these states. Political observers believe that the BJP government at the Centre had reduced the fuel price pressurized by public opinion. The BJD and some other non-BJP parties have been demanding the reduction of fuel price. The ruling  BJD in Odisha has launched a state-wide agitation against the hike in the fuel price. Biju Chhatra Janata Dal and Biju Yuva Janata Dal had given call to stage dharna and protests near all petrol pumps in the assembly constituencies from November 5 to 7. On the other hand, Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said that both the BJP and BJD are responsible for the skyrocketing of oil prices. "They were forced to reduce the tax on the fuel prices realizing that the common consumers are hard-hit," said the firebrand leader.