AIADMK holds demos against petrol price hike

The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu today held demonstrations across the state to protest the "unprecedented" hike in petrol price and to demand its immediate rollback.

Senior leaders of the party, its MPs and MLAs joined by a large number of workers raised slogans in front of Central government offices against the Rs 7.50 per litre hike in petrol prices, which has been strongly opposed by several political parties including UPA allies.

Demonstrations were held at four places in Chennai, district headquarters and in Puducherry, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh besides other places. Party workers also held demonstrations at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Chief Minister and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa has criticised the hike as a 'gift' to the people by the Congress-led UPA government on completion of three years in office and said the Centre seems to be ignoring people's protests and was not respecting public sentiments.

The AIADMK's protest comes a day ahead of the agitation called by DMK, a key UPA constituent, which will be led by party patriarch M Karunanidhi himself.
Jayalalithaa had said earlier that the UPA government's 'wrong' economic policies were responsible for the price rise, steep Rupee depreciation and economic slowdown and the latest petrol price hike had only added "fuel to the fire".