M A I N   N E W S

TDP, Cong flay LPG price hike
Tribune News Service and agencies

NEW DELHI, March 23 — There were protests within the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) today over the hike in the prices of kerosene and LPG effected late last night by the government with the Telegu Desam Party (TDP), one of the major allies, saying that the government should have actually restructured the increase to a reasonable and affordable levels.

The Congress and the Left parties also flayed the price hike with the latter describing it as “repulsive and arbitrary”. The Congress described that the hike in prices of kerosene and the LPG as “ad hocism” and said the prices could not be decided in isolation.

The statement from the TDP was particularly significant as some other allies were also already pressing for the rollback of the hike in the prices of foodgrains for the PDS and fertiliser.

In a statement the TDP Parliamentary Party leader, Mr K. Yerran Naidu said the government should have effected this rise in a phased and gradual manner, “so as to make them reasonable and absorbable by the consumers”.

The TDP said even as the suggestion of several political parties for reconsideration of the recent hike in prices of foodgrains for the PDS and fertiliser prices was under consideration of the government, “yesterday’s announcement about kerosene and the LPG will place additional burden on the poor”.

Mr Naidu stated that the increase in petroleum products was “too steep to be absorbed by the consumers, particularly the poorer sections”. He said the 125 per cent increase in the ex-storage price of kerosene which had been increased by Rs 2.50 a litre was particularly very stiff.

Kerosene was being used by the poor sections of the society and this hike in one stroke would place a heavy burden on them, he added.

Efforts were being made by the states, particularly Andhra Pradesh, to promote the use of LPG among the poorer sections. He pointed out that the state had already undertaken a scheme to promote almost 10 lakh LPG connections among the rural poor women and such a steep hike would only place additional burden on them.

Senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee told reporters that the subsidy in kerosene would affect villagers as the government had failed to provide enough electricity to the villages.

Congress spokesperson Ajit Jogi said the government had not taken Parliament into confidence while announcing the hike. Since it was announced during the inter-session period, the government had purposely sidelined Parliament. He added that the party would force the government to withdraw the hike, just as it was forced to withdraw the order on the RSS.

Another senior Congress leader, Mr Madhavrao Scindia said the party would oppose the hike both inside and outside Parliament. He criticised the government for raising the prices of the PDS foodgrains and the proposal to keep income tax payers out of the purview of the PDS.

The CPI has directed its party units to intensify the struggle against the price hike and its Central Secretariat in a statement said that the government’s decision would only “upset the common man’s family budget totally”.

Criticising Petroleum Minister Ram Naik’s attempt to justify the hike by saying that the earlier government had planned to dismantle the controlled price regime in the petroleum sector, the CPI said: “It is just jugglery of words.”

The Rashtriya Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav also condemned the hike and said it would badly affect the masses.

CHENNAI: The AIADMK has criticised the hike in the prices of LPG and kerosene and demanded that the Centre immediately withdraw it. AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalitha in a statement here said it was very unfortunate that the DMK nominee in the Union Cabinet, Murasoli Maran, had participated in the recent NDA meeting to discuss the hike though some other partners had boycotted the meet.

“The latest hike in LPG and kerosene amounts to robbery” as it would affect middle class people the most, Ms Jayalalitha added.

PONDICHERRY: Pondicherry Chief Minister P. Shanmugham on Thursday flayed the hike in kerosene and cooking gas prices saying it would hit the low and middle income groups.

He was reacting to the hike announced by the Centre last night.