Bathinda:

Former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Saturday demanded the Centre and Congress-led government in Punjab should reduce fuel prices to give relief to the common man.

Prices of essential commodities had also risen after the sharp hike in prices of petrol and diesel and that these prices should be reduced immediately to contain inflation, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader further said.

The Bathinda MP asked the Punjab government to take the lead and reduce prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 5 per litre each by slashing value added tax (VAT) on petroleum items.

It was strange that instead of doing this, the Punjab Congress had planned a “phoney” protest on March 1 to demand the Centre reduce prices of petroleum product, she said.

Ms Badal said if the Congress-led dispensation was really concerned about the welfare of the people, then it should reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to bring down its prices in Punjab.

“It is a shame that instead of doing this, the Congress is trying to fool the people by resorting to fake protests,” she said.

The ruling Congress has said that it would ”gherao” Punjab Raj Bhavan on March 1 in protest against the rising fuel and cooking gas prices.

The Bathinda MP attacked the Congress-led government, accusing it of “not fulfilling its poll promises”.

Ms Badal, who had last year resigned as Union minister over the new farm laws issue, said the people had got “fed up” with the Congress and were ready to vote it out in the 2022 assembly elections.

“Punjab has witnessed a sharp fall in all parameters be it attracting new investment or per capita income,” she alleged.

Ms Badal said the central government should not discriminate against the farming community and should repeal the three farm laws which were being opposed by the farmers.

She alleged that the Congress-led government in Punjab was playing a “fixed match” with the Centre and refusing to take up the issue of repeal of the three laws forcefully with the Union government.