By IANS
New Delhi : The Left Front, upset at the government’s decision to hike fuel prices and rejection of its call to cut customs duties, Thursday announced plans for a nationwide agitation to force a rollback.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had ignored its advice to avoid a price hike.
“The CPI-M and the Left have consistently been demanding the restructuring of the indirect taxes structure on petroleum and doing away with the ad valorem duty structure and replacing it with specific duties,” the CPI-M politburo said in a statement here.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government Thursday decided to increase petrol and diesel prices by Rs.2 and Rs.1 per litre respectively.
“If the central government had returned to the oil companies the ad valorem tax that it had collected over the budget estimates, the necessity of increasing the prices of petroleum products would not have arisen,” the party said.
CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yehcury told reporters that the Left parties would pressure the government for a rollback. The party also urged its units across the country to protest the move.
“The government has miserably failed. It has not listened to us. We are calling our party members to immediately go on protest across the country,” Communist Party of India (CPI) national secretary D. Raja said.
“Our party is completely opposed to the decision which will have a cascading effect on the already overburdened common man, who has been hit badly by the high prices of all essential items,” Raja pointed out.
RSP’s Abani Roy also condemned the fuel price hike. “This government has come to power with the slogan of the ‘aam aadmi’ (common man), but it has completely ignored the people. The people should rise against this decision.”
Forward Bloc leader G. Devarajan said: “It (the price hike) could have been avoided if the government had listened to our suggestions for tax restructuring and setting up a price stabilisation fund.”
The Left had demanded the creation of a price stabilisation fund for petroleum products to be set up with the resources generated through the oil cess.
“We will consult with other Left parties and launch a united protest against the move,” he said.
The four Left parties support the UPA government from outside.