The Left Front on Friday demanded rollback of the petrol price hike and announced a six-day long protest programme in West Bengal.
“There has been no increase in international crude oil prices for the last two years, so the petrol price hike is unjustified. Petrol prices have gone up by Rs. 25 during this period. We demand a complete rollback”, Left Front chairman Biman Bose told news persons after a meeting of the Front.
Protest programmes against the hike will be held by Leftist organisations throughout the state from May 26 to May 30 and rallies will be organised on May 31, he said.
“We do not believe that the Centre has nothing to do. It is true that deregulation of petrol prices have been made but oil companies discuss before effecting hikes with the government ... It was on the direction of the central government that the oil companies effected the hike only after the Parliament session was over”, Mr. Bose, also a CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, alleged.
Asked about the oil companies’ contention that the petrol price rise was necessary because of depreciation of Rupee against US Dollar, Mr. Bose said the Rupee depreciated due to “incompetence of the Centre.”
“They (Centre) did not perform their duties properly”, he said.
Mr. Bose also criticised the ruling Trinamool Congress saying that while it was holding rallies against the hike it has not done anything to reduce the state sales tax on petrol.
Keywords: petrol price hike, Left Front, rollback of price hike
What is needed in India at this time is a complete transparency on the Oil Industry operation both Public and Private sectors businesses. Annual report does not tell the whole pictures. First find out what is the real cost of feed to the refineries under various arrangement of crude supplies from different sources. then what is the cost per unit of producing various products etc. By referring to the Future Option prices at Commodity trading floor,one should not try to overpriced the public. So what is needed the truth. Everybody can live with the truth So the books to the public and see where is the problems. Every producers would like to get world spot price for their products. however there is a thing called Long term contract prices etc. So let people have the facts. Don't just the country to the speculative prices which is not fair in the face of it because how it is being created by the market.
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