Mahilpur truck union stages protest against Centre over four fuel price hikes in two weeks/ Dhiman, Hoshiarpur / Daljeet Ajnoha /May 26

Mahilpur truck union stages protest against Centre over four fuel price hikes in two weeks/
Dhiman,
Hoshiarpur / Daljeet Ajnoha /May 26
— Truck drivers and owners from the Mahilpur Truck Union staged a protest on Monday, halting vehicles to denounce the Centre’s decision to raise petrol and diesel prices four times in two weeks. The demonstration was led by union president Baljit Singh Bains and Labour Party leader Jai Gopal Dhiman.
Speakers said repeated increases in petroleum prices are pushing the transport business to the brink. Bains and Dhiman argued that transporters provide livelihoods to thousands across the country but are being squeezed from all sides by government policies. They warned that successive fuel price rises have triggered steep inflation in food items and widespread public distress.
Transporters are already burdened by high taxes, heavy tolls and steep permit fees imposed by successive administrations, they said, resulting in significantly reduced work and mounting debts. They urged the government to cut taxes rather than allowing fuel prices to be raised repeatedly, saying this would ease the burden on both transporters and consumers.
Dhiman alleged that governments have deliberately excluded petrol and diesel from the GST framework, which has resulted in a heavy tax incidence on these fuels. He pointed to a stark price disparity with neighbouring countries, claiming the BJP government sells petrol to Nepal at ₹58 per litre, to Bangladesh at ₹60, to Sri Lanka at ₹54 and to Bhutan at ₹52, while domestic prices exceed ₹100 per litre — an injustice to Indian consumers, he said.
Bains appealed to fellow transporters to remain united. Dhiman added that supplier countries sell fuel more cheaply within their own borders and questioned why Indian consumers are being made to pay more. He warned that the inflation imposed by the BJP-led government could wreck the country’s economic and social balance and urged people to join together to demand immediate tax cuts from all levels of government to protect citizens from rising prices.
Those present included Inderjit Singh, Gurdeep Singh Sangha, Harjinder Singh, Surjeet Singh, Gurdev Singh, Varinder Singh, Jasveer Singh, Balwinder Singh, another Gurdeep Singh, Jagir Singh, Kashmir Singh, Balwinder Singh , Sucha Singh, Satnam Singh, Naranjan Singh, Bal Krishan and Gurmeet Singh.