India Opposition Calls For Nationwide Strike To Protest Rising Petrol Price

India’s principal opposition parties, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is calling for a nationwide strike on May 31 to protest rising petrol prices.

The government decided to boost prices by more 11 percent, the steepest such increase in ten years, to 7.54 rupees (about $0.13) per liter, in tandem with the rupee currency falling to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar.

Sharad Yadav, a spokesman for the opposition, complained: The government has washed its hands clean on price hike, but in reality, it happens only when the government wants it to happen. The government will also increase prices of diesel and cooking gas after the presidential elections [are] over.”

In 2010, the Indian government permitted state-owned oil companies to establish the price of petrol, but it reserves the right to control diesel, kerosene and cooking gas prices.