Shillong, March 13 : The state BJP has initiated a signature campaign against price rise in Meghalaya.

BJP organising secretary Dipayan Chakraborty today said as part of the nationwide protest against sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities, the state unit of the BJP has launched a mass signature campaign.

The campaign will continue this entire month.

By the third week of April, a memorandum with the signatures of the people of the state will be handed over to the Centre.

According to the BJP, in the rural areas of the state, party workers are carrying out the signature campaign in weekly markets where people arrive in large numbers.

In Shillong, the party is trying to reach out to all the doors to take the signatures of people who want to protest against the price rise of essential commodities, Chakraborty said.

In different shops in Shillong, there are varying prices of commodities, which have put the consumers in a dilemma. Moreover, no effective steps are being taken by the government to control price rise despite assurances from time to time by the state government, according to the BJP.

The authorities have also failed to initiate any surprise checks in parts of city to regulate price hike of essential commodities.

Chakraborty said the memorandum would be handed over to President Pratibha Patil on April 21 followed by Parliament gherao.

The state unit of the BJP also condemned the harsh and adamant attitude of the UPA government over not rolling back the price of petrol and diesel as proposed in the Central budget.

“The party feels that in spite of several requests by the BJP, the Centre and the state government have failed to manage the crisis and compelled the BJP to take the path of agitation,” Chakraborty said.