Communist Party of India (Marxist) has flayed the Union government for continuously increasing the fuel price even when it was procuring crude oil at cheap prices from Russia.
Addressing a demonstration here on Monday, the party’s State executive committee member, Madukkoor Ramalingam, said that the Centre claimed that it had no role in deciding the price of petrol and diesel. However, in the run-up to the Assembly election to five States, despite increase in international price of crude oil, the retail price of petrol and diesel in the country remained unchanged for over 130 days.
However, as if to offset the loss for those 130 days, the Centre had steeply increased the price of fuel in the last 10 days. “Many poor people were refusing to take cooking gas refills after the price of cylinders were increased steeply,” he said.
Mr. Ramalingam said that LPG was required for various day-to-day life from cooking to cremation yard using gasifiers. Besides, the toll for highways has been increased when the people were already suffering from lockdown due to COVID.
“Just as people started to feel the relief of lockdown restrictions, the increase in fuel and gas price and toll has come as a shocker to the common man as their cascading effect is felt in all essential commodities,” he added. The people feel as if their throats are being stifled with the increase of all essential commodities and transport charges.
The increase of highway toll was a daylight robbery.
When the people were suffering from all these menaces, the State government has announced 100% increase in property tax which will again lead to price rise.
“If the property tax for small shops is increased, the landlords would increase the rent and the shopkeepers will pass on the burden to the consumers by increasing the price of their products,” he added.
He took a strong exception to Minister for Local Administration K.N. Nehru claiming that the increase in property tax was inevitable as the Centre had forced upon it.
“Did the people vote for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to follow the diktats of the Centre? They voted for you only to oppose such directives of the Centre,” he said.
Stating that the democratic rights should be extended to the local bodies, he said the Mayors and Chairpersons and councillors have just assumed office, he said: “Let the local bodies discuss the issue and arrive at the rate of hike. “
Party leaders M. Ganesan, R. Vijayarajan, P. Jeeva and R. Sasikala were among those who addressed the protest in which a two-wheeler was drawn by a tricycle, as a symbolic portrayal of the fallout of high price of fuel.
