Sporting black shirts, traders staged a demonstration here on Friday condemning sky-rocketing fuel prices and allowing Walmart in retail business.
The traders, affiliated to Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu, who staged the demonstration in front of Tirunelveli railway junction, said the unprecedented rise in prices of petrol and diesel was having an adverse impact on the selling price of essential commodities. The traders, who were forced to buy the products at the increased price, had to pass on the burden to the consumers.
Hence, the Centre should bring the fuel price under the ambit of Goods and Service Tax to control the prices. Moreover, the GST being levied on food products should be revised to control the price.
The Centre’s decision to allow multinational giant Walmart in retail business would wipe out lakhs and lakhs of small traders and their families. Hence the decision should be withdrawn.
The recently revised rent for shops belonging to Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department should be withdrawn, they said.
They were led by the organisation’s district president M.R. Subramanian.
Similar protest was organised at Chidambara Nagar bus stop in Thoothukudi, which was led by M. Radhakrishnan, regional president of the organisation.