Monday has been a busy day for Kerala’s leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. The amicable Congress leader first hit the streets of Kochi early in the morning to lead his party’s nationwide agitation against rising fuel prices. Surrounded by hundreds of Congress party workers waving flags, Chennithala officially inaugurated the protests by mounting a bullock cart, a popular move adopted by politicians to embarrass a ruling government over its fuel policy.
The LoP was accompanied by local MLAs Anwar Sadath and Hybi Eden and Ernakulam MP KV Thomas and hundreds of party workers. Shouting slogans and carrying placards, the workers moved to demonstrate their strength in an attempt to pile more pressure on the Centre to bring down fuel prices. In state capital Thiruvananthapuram, petrol prices rose by 21 paise to reach Rs 83.74 and diesel prices rose by 18 paise to reach Rs 77.67.