Mumbai: Opposition parties in Maharashtra appealed Saturday the Shiv Sena, an ally of the ruling BJP, to support the `Bharat Bandh' against rising prices.
The Congress has given call for a nation-wide shut-down on September 10 in protest against rising fuel prices and inflation.
Addressing a press conference with Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam here, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, "MNS leader Raj Thackeray is calling for opposition unity. So we expect he will support this Bandh.
"It is also a great opportunity for Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to give a jolt to the BJP government. If the financial capital (Mumbai) shuts down, it will be like the whole country shut down," Malik said.
Nirupam said that state Congress chief Ashok Chavan is in touch with the Shiv Sena leader in this regard.
"Petrol and diesel is costliest in Maharashtra. We have been demanding that fuels be brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) but the government is not ready," Nirupam said.
Fuel prices will come down by 50 per cent if brought under the GST, and the Centre has mopped up Rs 11 lakh crore by levying various cess and excise duties, he claimed. Malik said the BJP is in power in 22 states and had it
wished, it could have achieved consensus and brought fuel
under the GST.
"The government used to levy a drought cess earlier (on petrol and diesel), but after the drought ended, the name of this cess was changed and it continues to be levied," he said.
Malik also alleged that the government, to compensate for loss of tax revenue due to the ban on sale of liquor along the highways, is increasing the cess on fuels.
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