The opposition Congress-led UDF on Wednesday took out a rally to the Raj Bhavan here in bullock carts and bicycles to protest against the steep hike in prices of petrol and diesel. The protesters raised slogans against the Narendra Modi-led government at the centre and Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government in the state.

It was led by Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, Ramesh Chennithala, who got onto a bullock cart along with KPCC president, M M Hassan, Congress MPs Shashi Tharoor and Kodukkunil Suresh and MLA, K Muraleedharan.

Inaugurating the march, Chennithala said fuel prices in the country were skyrocketing and nowhere else in the world were they as high as in India. It was only because of the elections to the Karnataka assembly due to be held on May 12, prices have now stabilised, he alleged. He accused Modi and Vijayan of ‘punishing’ the people.

The LDF government has already made it clear that it cannot waive additional sales tax revenue generated following the hike in prices of petroleum products due to financial constraints. The state government was getting Rs 7,000 crore additional revenue by way of fuel price hike, the Congress leader claimed.

The life of the common man had become difficult as prices of essential commodities, including vegetables, are soaring. “People are not able to travel by autorickshaws, scooters and buses,” he said and alleged that the central and state governments were ‘cheating’ the public.