On May 24 2012, Congress hinted towards the possibility of a partial roll back of the recent epic hike in the price of the fuel. This was after a series of strong protests by UPA allies and the opposition. The party is optimistic that the government will be able to counter the burden on the common man in some manner. Manish Tewari, Congress spokesman, said, "The party is hopeful that some kind of a modus vivendi involving the central government, state government and the oil companies will be arrived at.... We are hopeful that the government would find a way out so that some of this burden is eased which would provide relief to the common man."
He further emphasised that the much-protested hike was not taken by the government or was even a political decision. This was because the responsibility of determining the oil prices now remains with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) since the Centre has dismantled the Administered Price Mechanism (APM).
However, Tewari said that regardless of all the facts and economic realities, Congress "is extremely sensitive to the burden put on the common man". The political leader took a jibe at the political rival, BJP, and reminded that the price of the fuel had been revised over 30 times during the NDA rule. He said, "People who want to politicise every issue, should look within. The process to dismantle the APM was initiated by the NDA."
This record hike of Rs. 7.50 on every litre of petrol met with multiple protests across the country on May 24 2012, while the opposition, NDA, as well as the Left called for a nationwide bandh or strike on May 31 2012. The opposition labelled the increase in the price of fuel as a 'savage attack' on the common people. Left wing as well as the right wing parties have decided to stand together to demand a roll back of this decision. While the Left will hold an 'All India Protest Day' on May 31 2012 that will see strikes, picketing, roadblocks and rallies against the price hike.
The acting chairman (BJP leader L. K. Advani) and convenor of NDA (JD (U) President Sharad Yadav) have called for a nationwide strike. Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP spokesperson, confirmed the news and said that the decision has been taken against the magnanimous hike after consulting all the allies. Advani said that the recent development by the government is an 'anti-people move' and appealed the common people to make 'Bharat Bandh' a huge success. Sharad Yadav said, "This is an eyewash... We (NDA) are going to observe a 'Bharat Bandh' on May 31." According to Shiva Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, his party deems the idea of the strike to be “acceptable”.
According to reports of protests that took place on May 24 2012, several districts in Kerala witnessed closed markets and strikes by private bus owners. However, police maintained that there were no reports of violence and private vehicles operated normally. The LDF and BJP in the state separately conducted dawn-to-dusk strikes, which affected routine life across Kerala.
Various places in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh also witnessed protests. Demonstrations were held in Vijayawada and towns of Krishna District in Andhra Pradesh by Telugu Desam, CPM, CPI and BJP. The local BJP branch at Jammu hosted a protest march on a horse-cart, headed by District President, Rajesh Gupta. Cities like Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Gurgaon and Kanpur too had their share of protests against the hike.
