Conducting caste census our party's guarantee: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh
Nandurbar (PTI): Conducting caste census is our party's guarantee, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in Maharashtra's Nandurbar district on Tuesday.
"We have given a guarantee that there should be social, economic and caste census," Ramesh, Congress general secretary and in-charge of communications, told reporters ahead of party leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entering Maharashtra on its last leg.
"This is our society's X-ray which will show us the population of various castes and their share in our nation's wealth. It will also reflect their stake in our democratic institutions," the former Union minister said.
Nandurbar district is known for its connection with the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Comprising a part of the Satpura mountain ranges and Narmada river belt, Nandurbar district in North Maharashtra also touches Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
The yatra will culminate in Mumbai, where Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally on March 17.
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Palakkad: Hotel owners hold protest march against gas price hike
Palakkad (Kerala) (PTI): Hotel and restaurant owners on Saturday held a protest march in Palakkad against the recent nearly Rs 1,000 hike in commercial gas cylinder prices.
The protesters marched through the town holding placards and images of gas cylinders. They also carried two cylinders on a stretcher with a wreath placed on top, according to visuals aired on television channels.
The hotel and restaurant owners contended that it would be difficult for them to sustain their businesses in view of the high cost of commercial gas cylinders.
They said that many of them had been forced to shut their establishments earlier due to the scarcity of commercial gas cylinders, and that most had only recently reopened.
“But the sudden increase in commercial gas cylinder prices has affected our operations,” the protesters said.
Similar concerns were raised by restaurant owners and workers from other parts of the state in response to queries from reporters.
The Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association had on Friday announced a statewide protest strike on May 6 against the Rs 993 hike in commercial LPG cylinder prices.
KHRA state president G Jayapal said that all hotels and restaurants across Kerala would remain shut on that day in protest against what he termed an “unfair” increase in LPG prices.
He added that over the past five months, the price of a single cylinder had increased by a total of Rs 1,498.
On May 6, establishments will remain closed, and protest marches and dharnas will be held in front of district headquarters and oil company offices, he said.
