To condemn the Centre over petrol prices breaching the ₹100-mark in the state, the Congress staged agitations in various districts and tehsils. The Congress leaders from the state said the agitation would be intensified if the price hike was not rolled back. The Congress leaders said petrol and diesel are being sold at high prices because of the exorbitant duty levied on them and the Centre has earned hefty revenue out of it over the past few years. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, relief and rehabilitation minister Vijay Wadettiwar led the agitation in Gadchiroli, party MP Balu Dhanorkar in Chandrapur, minister of state for home Satej Patil in Kolhapur, while party’s working president Arif Naseem Khan headed it in Thane.

“The general public is facing hardship because of the high taxes on the petrol levied by the Centre. It has aggravated the problems of the common people who have already been facing financial crisis due to job losses amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The Congress-led UPA government had successfully kept the petrol-diesel prices under control despite high crude oil prices in the international market. Modi government has levied exorbitant taxes and duties on petrol and diesel,” Patole said.