Protests erupt: Petro price hike hits common man

Terming the government's move to hike petrol prices as "callous", the CPI(M) on Friday demanded immediate roll back of the hike and restoration of the administrative regulation of petrol pricing.

Condemning the hike of petrol price by Rs 3.14 per litre in Delhi, the party Politburo said this was the third increase this year which "comes at a time when inflation is touching double digits and the people have no respite from the price rise of essential commodities. This callous move will only have a cascading effect on inflation and price rise."

"The people can see that the Congress-led government is itself responsible for stoking price rise and inflation by such measures," the CPI(M) said, demanding the cancellation of this price rise and restoring the administrative regulation of pricing of petrol.

Party General Secretary Prakash Karat said the repeated increases in petrol prices "shows how callous the UPA government has become".

"The deregulation of petrol prices is already having a cascading effect while the UPA government has been consistently refusing to rationalise the tax structure on petroleum prices," he said.

Trinamool Congress, a key constituent of the UPA government, on Friday demanded a roll back of the hike in petrol prices as it would hit the common man hard.

"Trinamool Congress wants roll back of the petrol price hike," senior Trinamool Congress leader and Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi said, adding his party's opinion was never sought before implementing the decision.

Stating that the hike would put an additional burden on the common man, Trivedi strongly opposed the possible hike in LPG prices.

"It is not a luxury but an essential for common man and should not be raised further," he told reporters.

He said the hike was not "acceptable" to the common man and he would have "definitely" stated this at the EGoM on LPG which has been postponed.

Asked how his party was going to protest the hike, he said, "You cannot have a knee-jerk reaction. You can't have any undemocratic reaction. We have already registered our protest."

He said party chief Mamata Banerjee "has already registered her protest."

"Mamata Banerjee was the first one to do so. Even during the last fuel hike Mamata was the first Chief Minister to roll back the state levy," he said.

However, he stressed that the protest against the hike would be done in a democratic fashion.

On possible hike in rail fares, Trivedi said, "We would do what is right for the common people. Common man needs relief not more burden. How we would do it, that needs to be thought of."

He said constant demand by his party for a rollback in prices of petroleum products earlier and now were not intended at destabilising the government as Mamata Banerjee "is a very responsible leader."

"If somebody is looking for some kind of instability in the government, let's be categorical about it. There is no problem as far as the stability of the government is concerned because Mamata Banerjee is a very responsible leader. So do not read too much into it."

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday slammed the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre for effecting "totally unjustified" and "back breaking" hike in petrol price.

"The totally unwarranted hike in petrol prices will badly hit the common man and dampen economic growth rate," Badal said in a statement.

The CM said that inflation was very high and has gone beyond the control of the UPA government despite its tall claims to manage it.

The hike would adversely affect the transport sector in the state resulting in corresponding price rise of essential commodities, he said.

Badal asked the Centre to evolve a transparent system to decide the prices of petroleum products in consultation with all the political parties.

Slamming the increase in petrol prices, BJP leader Rajnath Singh alleged that it was a fallout of the government's "direction-less" economic policy.

Singh said that "the repeated increase in prices of petrol and diesel were affecting the middle classes and the lower classes the most. Prices of daily need items would also increase because of the increase in oil prices.

"We have raised the issue of price rise earlier and now also we will raise it inside and outside Parliament," the BJP leader said.

Criticising the government, Singh said the "growing disparity (among the rich and the poor) was a major area of concern and was a result of wrong economic policies."

Corruption was also one of the reasons due to which economic disparity was widening, Singh said.

Criticising the hike in petrol prices and the proposal to limit supply of subsidised LPG, Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy said the moves are a clear indication of UPA government's "bankruptcy of ideas" and that it is time to go for mid-term polls.

"The government proposal to increase petrol prices and augment the LPG charges is clear indication of the bankruptcy of ideas of the present UPA leadership," he said in a statement.

Accusing the government of "failing on all fronts" he said the "best solution" for the nation now is to go for a mid-term election to ask people to give a "mandate for a new economic policy to steer the economy away from the "precipice".

UPA ally NCP expressed unhappiness over the hike in petrol prices, saying the consequent rise in the costs of other items will hit the common man.

NCP general secretary D P Tripathi said the hike in fuel prices will have a cascading effect on the prices of other commodities and pinch the common man, particularly the rural poor. "Since we are part of the government, we are not opposing the government decision but we are stating our views," he said.

DMK and Trinmool Congress, key constituents of UPA, have also criticised the decision and demanded immediate "roll back" of the hike.

This is the second major hike in four months. In May, petrol price was increased by Rs 5 per litre.