Bhubaneswar, May 28 (PTI) The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today launched a three-day state-wide protest against the Centre's "lack of measures" to tacle rising fuel prices.

The leaders and supporters of the BJD staged a dharna in front of the Raj Bhawan here and decided to organise a series of demonstrations and meetings in all 314 blocks of the state.

"It is an instance of the Centre's anti-people policy to increase fuel prices on a daily basis. The Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre has failed to reduce the excise duty on petroleum products. The hike will have a rippling effect on the prices of essential commodities," said BJD MP Prasanna Acharya.

The BJD leaders also rejected Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan's suggestion to the state govenrment for reducing the rate of VAT in order to bring down the fuel prices.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)