TN Police files case against BJP's Annamalai, 5,000 people for protests over fuel tax cut

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai staged a massive protest at St. George Fort in Chennai on Tuesday as the state government has not yet reduced fuel & gas prices following the Centre's decision to slash excise duty on petrol and diesel.

Tamil Nadu BJP workers along with state party president K Annamalai marched towards the state's secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday condemning the state government for not reducing the tax on petrol and diesel.

Following this, a case has been registered in the Egmore Police station under 3 sections including illegal crowd gathering and stopping government officials from doing their duty. Police has registered a case against 5,000 people, including BJP state president Annamalai and former National Secretary H Raja for violating laws. 

Tamil Nadu BJP Issues 20-day ultimatum to fulfill poll vows

TN BJP president Annamalai on Tuesday spoke to media and said, "When Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came to power, they said that the price of petrol and diesel will be reduced by Rs 5 & Rs 4. This promise was made one year back. BJP government had reduced the fuel price twice. But DMK govt in Tamil Nadu did not reduce even once."

"We demand DMK reduce the price of fuel and stick to their promised prices. We are giving 20 days more to implement that decision. If they don’t reduce the price of fuel we will do Satyagrah and show massive strength in all districts. We will march to the secretariat if DMK refuses to reduce the price of fuel," Tamil Nadu BJP president added.

'DMK failed to act on promises made in its election manifesto': TN BJP chief  

Earlier, Tami Nadu BJP chief Annamalai gave an ultimatum to state government to reduce fuel prices. Annamalai came down heavily on Chief Minister MK Stalin-led DMK government for its reported failure to meet the promises it had made in its election manifesto to reduce fuel prices, targeting state Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan for his May 22 remarks accusing the Centre of being 'partial' for not consulting with states before increasing the excise duty on petrol and diesel.

Criticising the Tamil Nadu Finance Minister for his statements, Annamalai said, "Did the finance minister of Tamil Nadu discuss with the Central government before releasing the election manifesto, in which they promised to cut the fuel and gas prices. After 2014, Tamil Nadu has increased VAT by Rs 7 per litre thus earning Rs 19,000 crore. Though they promised to reduce the petrol price by Rs 5 it was only cut by Rs 3 and kept the price of diesel unchanged."