Indian opposition protests high petrol, diesel prices

New Delhi : Indians set tyres on fire, vandalised petrol stations and blocked roads and railways yesterday as opposition parties led nationwide demonstrations against rising fuel prices. The protests were called by the opposition Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi, who is looking to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in general elections expected in early 2019. “Ever since the BJP came to power (in 2014) fuel prices have been going up. Prime Minister Modi has failed to deliver on his promises to the people,” Gandhi, 48, told a crowd in Delhi.