New Delhi: After the issue of price rise,
the Union Budget 2010-11 brought the entire opposition on a
single platform today in protest against the proposed hike in
petrol and diesel with leaders asking people to back them like
they did during the days of Emergency.
Opposition parties, ranging from BJP to Left parties
as also outside supporters to the UPA like Samajwadi Party and
RJD, unitedly staged a walkout during Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee's speech in the Lok Sabha.
CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia described the walkout as
unprecedented during Budget presentation.
Addressing an impromptu joint press conference, along
with other opposition veterans, SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav
appealed to the people to hit the streets in protest
against government's move and sought their support like they
did "during the Emergency".
"The entire opposition is together," RJD leader
Lalu Prasad said, accusing the UPA government of acting in a
"dictatorial manner" against the interests of the 'aam aadmi'
and threatened that Parliament would not be allowed to
function till a rollback is effected.
Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj, who led the
walkout, alleged that the hike in the prices of petrol and
diesel would have a cascading effecting and hit the common man
hard.
Prasad said a "government which cannot check price is
incompetent and an incompetent government has to be changed."
Acharia said, "We cannot be a mute spectator. We will
continue the agitation until the government withdraws the
proposal."
Terming the budget as "directionless, aimless and
anti-people", BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi said it will only
add to the rise in prices.
-PTI
First Published: Friday, February 26, 2010, 23:45