The Hindu : Karnataka News : CPI(M) to stage dharna in protest against price rise

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Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008
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Karnataka

CPI(M) to stage dharna in protest against price rise

Staff Correspondent

UPA Government blamed for rising prices
‘The farmer has not benefited’

HASSAN: Communist Party of India (Marxist), Hassan district unit, will stage a dharna in protest against the United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre for its “failure” to control price rise of essential commodities.

Secretary of the district unit Dharmesh said here on Tuesday that there was support for the decision of the Left parties to organise a country-wide dharna from April 16 to April 23 in protest against the failure of the UPA Government at the Centre to control inflation and price rise.

The CPI(M), the Communist Party of India, the Forward Bloc, the Republican Party of India, the Samajwadi Party and the Telugu Desam leaders, who met in Delhi recently, had taken this decision.

Mr. Dharmesh said that the National Democratic Alliance Government, headed by the BJP, and the UPA Government, headed by the Congress, had failed to control the price rise.

“The prices of air travel, cars and computers are coming down but not that of essential commodities. In 1996, the price of petrol was Rs. 24.97 a litre and now it is Rs. 52.86. Diesel price rose from the earlier Rs. 9.33 a litre to Rs. 36.40 and the steep rise had resulted in the increase of prices of all essential commodities,” he said.

Mr. Dharmesh said the UPA Government had increased the prices of petrol and diesel to net Rs. 40,000 crore revenue in a year.

Though the prices of agriculture produce have increased, the farmer has not benefited.

He said tomato was sold at Rs. 16 a kg while the farmer received only Rs. 6 to Rs. 7 a kg.

In this background, the CPI(M) would stage a dharna on Thursday in Hassan.

The rally would start from the Hemavathi statue and end in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

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