New Delhi: The opposition on Friday lashed out at
the UPA government for raising petrol prices with BJP
attributing it to the Government`s "mismanagement" and the
Left parties asking all their state units to launch nationwide
protests.
Chief Ministers of two non-Congress ruled states ridiculed
the Congress-led UPA government`s `Aam Aadmi` slogan and said
the petrol price rise has exposed the anti-poor face of the
Congress party which claims to be the votary of common man.
"Theirs is a mismanagement of a different kind.
International crude prices are not going up in the manner in
which our (fuel) prices here are going up," BJP leader L K
Advani told reporters in Pune.
Noting that petrol price rise was a major factor
responsible for fuelling prices of essential commodities, the
Left parties asked all their state units to launch nationwide
protests.
"The hoax of the pricing according to the market has been
exposed as international oil prices have fallen considerably
in the recent period," CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement,
adding the Congress-led coalition has once again displayed its
"shocking callousness" at the plight of the people.
CPI-M leader Nilotpal Basu said the Government was
"totally insensitive" to the miseries of the people.
The CPI Secretariat also condemned the petrol price hike,
terming it as "unjustified" and said the prices of essential
commodities were already high.
Strongly opposing the hike, CPI general secretary A B
Bardhan said, "It is yet another live example of anti-people
policy pursued by the UPA government."
CPI leader D Raja said the hike was a big blow to "aam
aadmi" at a time when food inflation had reached double digit.
The Left parties as well as CPI(M)-affiliate CITU called
upon their units to go for protest actions on the issue
tomorrow to demand roll back, reverting the decision to
de-control fuel prices and banning forward trading in all
essential commodities.
The CITU welcomed the decision of trade unions in Kerala`s
transport sector to go on strike tomorrow to protest the rise
in petrol prices.
Ridiculing the Congress-led UPA government`s `Aam Aadmi`
slogan," Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the latest
petrol price hike had truly over burdened the common people.
The youth wing of the ruling BJD in Orissa staged a
protest near the Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneshwar after taking out a
motorcycle rally. Almost all non-Congress parties came out on
the streets opposing the petrol price hike.
In Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal
said, "The hike would unleash fresh inflationary trends,
further jack up prices of all essential commodities and break
the back of the common man."
The Akali Dal leader said the hefty hike in the prices of
petrol has exposed the anti-poor face of the Congress party
which claims to be the votary of common man (Aam Adami).
Dubbing the UPA-II as "anti-poor", Samajwadi Party
demanded roll back of the petrol price in the interest of the
common people who voted the Congress led coalition to power.
Seeking to provide some relief to people hit by the petrol
price hike, the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala decided
to forego the additional tax accruing to the state exchequer
from the latest increase.
The measure, announced by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in
the Kerala Assembly, will reduce the petrol price in the state
by 37 paise per litre from the hike of Rs 1.82.
Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda told
reporters in Bangalore that he would write to the Centre
urging it to roll back the hike.
PTI
