'To earn tax...': Rahul Gandhi joins Congress campaign against price rise

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday followed the party's social media campaign against the fuel price rise and slammed the government for using this as a revenue-earning mechanism.

Referring to price rise as a curse, Gandhi said that the government is pushing people into the swamp of price rise just to earn tax.

"Price rise is a curse. The central government is only pushing the people into the morass of price rise to earn tax. Raise your voice against the destruction of the country," the Congress leader had tweeted in Hindi asking the people to take part in the campaign and express their concerns against the government's high taxes in fuel.

The tweet also had a promotional video for the campaign that showed people and the Congress party workers standing by the people to protest against the rising prices of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders. The video said that during these tough times the Congress party is taking a stand against the government and demands a cutback of oil and LPG prices.

The social media campaign of the opposition party against the rising fuel prices began on Friday 10am. The #speakupagainstpricerise campaign asks the people to be vocal and share their concerns regarding the price hike by going live or posting a video about the same on their social media handles.

The official social media handle of the Indian National Congress has posted the concerns shared by people from all across the country, demanding the fuel prices to be slashed.

Also Read | SSR death: NCB files over 12,000-page charge sheet, names Rhea Chakraborty

Other Congress leaders like Sachin Pilot and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also took to Twitter as part of the campaign to voice against the rising prices. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked the government for resorting to multiple excuses while sidelining the problems of common people.

"BJP government's excuses on rising inflation- Price rise due to winter, blame of previous governments, people travel less, so ticket prices increase. We do not have control over the rising prices of petrol-diesel. The common man's problems were sidelined, excuses showered this time," Vadra's tweet, roughly translated from Hindi, read.

The prices of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders have increased multiple times in the past weeks with petrol touching as high as ₹100 per litre in some states. Opposition parties have held various demonstrations against the rise, including party leaders using bicycles to travel.