Less than a year since it got a drubbing in the general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to have got an issue to go back to the electorate.

Protesting against the recent hike in the price of petrol and diesel, BJP workers also staged a demonstration and courted arrest on Tuesday.

Carrying anti-government placards, the agitating BJP workers, led by senior party leader V. K. Malhotra and Delhi BJP president O. P. Kohli, marched towards Parliament and demanded immediate roll back of the hike in duty on petrol and diesel.

Police had to use water cannons to disperse demonstrators who tried to scale the police barriers.

Intensifying its agitation against price rise, Delhi’s BJP unit has started a signature campaign on a memorandum to be submitted to the President of India.

“It is because of the wrong economic policies of the UPA government that a common man is suffering. With increase in diesel and petrol prices essential commodities are set to get costly putting more pressure on the common man,” Delhi state BJP president O. P. Kohli said.

Malhotra called upon the party workers to be prepared for a long struggle against the UPA government on the issue of price rise.