PRAGOTI

The Left parties – Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc – have issued the following statement:

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Price Rise of Petroleum Products Denounced:

Call for Powerful Protest Movement

The government has announced a steep increase in prices of petroleum products across the board. The price of petrol per litre is increased by Rs. 5; diesel by Rs. 3; and LPG cylinder by Rs. 50. This onslaught on the people comes at a time when they are suffering from the steep price rise of all essential commodities. In the background of the failure of the government to tackle the rising rate of inflation, this hike in petroleum prices will further aggravate the inflationary situation.

The increase in the price of diesel, in particular, will have a cascading effect on all-round prices as the transportation costs will rise sharply. Rs. 50 increase in the price of LPG cylinder will also be a crushing burden on family budget of ordinary people.

The Left parties had given a set of alternative proposals which have been ignored by the government for the past three years. The only substantial step taken is the doing away of the 5 per cent import duty on crude oil.

It is to be noted that the government has refused to impose a windfall profits tax on the oil and gas extracting companies and the private oil refineries. The spectacle of these companies reaping huge profits while the common people are burdened with huge price increases will not be lost on the people.

The Left parties demand that the UPA government review the decision on the price hikes. It should cut excise duties more and impose windfall taxes on private companies.

The Left parties call for a powerful countrywide protest movement against the steep hike in petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices. From the 5th to the 11th of June, the Left parties will mobilize the people to conduct hartals, strikes, picketing, rail roko, rasta roko and demonstrations to register the people's protest against this unjustified burden.

Sd/- Sd/-

*(Prakash Karat) (A. B. Bardhan)*

General Secretary, CPI(M) General Secretary, CPI

Sd/- Sd/-

(Debabrata Biswas) (T. J. Chandrachoodan)*

General Secretary, AIFB General Secretary, RSP

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PROTEST ACTION ON PETROLEUM PRICE HIKE

West Bengal
The Left Front has called for a 12-hour general strike on June 5, 2008.

Kerala
The Left Democratic Front has given a call for a general strike and hartal for 12 hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 5, 2008.

Tripura
The Left Front has called for a general strike in the state for 12 hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 5, 2008.

Andhra Pradesh
The CPI(M), CPI and Telugu Desam have given a call for general strike in the state on June 6, 2008.

Tamilnadu
The CPI(M), CPI and Forward Bloc have given a call for general strike in the state on June 7, 2008.

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Fuel Price Hike Thoroughly Unjustified

The hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG announced by the Government today is unjustified. If the suggestions put forward by the Left Parties are taken into account, this price hike would be totally unnecessary.

The Government has said that the price hike would lead to additional earnings of Rs. 21123 crore for the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). This amount can be easily mobilised to provide relief to the OMCs by doing the following:

* Rs. 7500 crore per annum cess collected from ONGC and Oil India Ltd. under the Oil Industry Development (OID) Act, 1974, which is not being used for the development of the petroleum sector, can be used to create a Price Stabilisation Fund, from which the OMCs can be compensated.

* If excise duties on petrol and diesel are cut by Rs. 3/litre instead of Re. 1/litre as has been done presently, a further relief of around Rs. 12000 crore can be provided to the OMCs.

* According to the Statement of Revenue Foregone in the Union Budget 2008, the Government is estimated to have lost Rs. 87992 crore in excise duty exemptions and Rs. 58655 crore in corporate tax exemptions in 2007-08. The Government would not lose any revenue on account of the tax relief given to oil companies if it can phase out 15% of these huge corporate and excise duty exemptions.

* According to the Annual Report of the Reliance Industries Limited, its profit from the refining business has increased from Rs. 5915 crore in 2005-06 to Rs. 10372 crore in 2007-08. Not a single paisa of tax has been paid out of these profits, which have nearly doubled in two years. A windfall profit tax of 20% on such profits from refining as well as oil and gas exploration can help in mobilising at least Rs. 2000 crore.

The astronomical figures for under recoveries of OMCs that are being projected as their losses by the Government are notional figures. They are not actual losses. The Government should realize that in a global context where price of crude oil is reigning at a high level, the only sustainable solution lies in restructuring duties on petro products and having a transparent pricing policy whereby the OMCs as well as the refineries do not retain hefty profit margins. What is at stake today is not the market capitalisation of the oil companies but the livelihood of the working people who are already suffering from back-breaking inflation.

A press release from CPI(M)

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Kolkata, June 4: Dr. Asim K Dasgupta, finance minister, government of West Bengal has issued the following statement:

The government of India has announced a stiff increase in the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs.5/- and Rs.3/- per litre respectively and the price of LPG by Rs.50/- per cylinder. The state government urges the central government to reconsider this decision to provide relief to the common man.

Pending that reconsideration by the government of India, the state government, within its limited financial powers, has decided, for providing some relief to the common people, to reduce the rates of sales tax on petrol from 25% to 20% and that on diesel 17% to 12.5%. By reducing these rates the state government will incur a revenue loss by at least Rs.500 crore. As a result, the enhanced retail price of petrol and diesel will be reduced by Rs.2.12 and Rs.1.38 respectively.

It may be mentioned that the pre-existing rates of sales tax on petrol and diesel in West Bengal were already much lower than most of the comparable states. It is unfortunate that the government of India, while taking this decision to increase the retail price of petrol and diesel, have reduced the excise duty on these items only Rs.1/ per litre, while still keeping the rate of excise duty on petrol at least 50% of the basic price. The state government requests the government of India to reconsider the entire decision of price increase including reducing its own excise rate and take other necessary measures.

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Youth and Students on Price rise

New Delhi, June 4: K. K. Ragesh and Tapas Sinha the general secretaries of the SFI and the DYFI issued the following statement:

The Students Federation of India and Democratic Youth Federation of India strongly condemns the steep hike in petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices. The price of petrol per litre is increased alarmingly by Rs. 5; diesel by Rs. 3; and LPG cylinder by Rs. 50. SFI and DYFI will conduct immediate protests in this regard through out the country.

We believe that this rise in the prices will affect the people severely at a time when the people of the country are facing the burns of the steep price rise of essential commodities. In the background of the failure of the government to tackle the rising rate of inflation, this hike in petroleum prices will further aggravate the inflationary situation.

Interestingly the alternate proposals given by the left have been constantly ignored by the government for the last few years.

We demand for the review of the decision on the price hikes. The UPA government at the center needs to cut excise duties more and impose windfall taxes on private companies.

The Students Federation of India and Democratic Youth Federation of India calls upon the students and youths of the country to denounce this anti people move of the government and build countrywide resistance immediately.

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AIDWA ON PRICE RISE

New Delhi, June 4: The UPA government has today announced a steep increase in prices of petroleum products. The price of petrol has been increased by Rs. 5 and diesel by Rs. 3 per litre; while that of an LPG cylinder by Rs. 50.

This latest announcement comes close on the heels of galloping inflation over the last few months. The increase in the price of diesel affects prices of all other commodities, including specifically, transportation costs and fares across the board. The steep rise of Rs. 50 in the price of the LPG cylinder will add to the strain on family budgets which are as it is reeling under the burden of pro-liberalization policies. Already the steep increase in prices of all essential commodities has contributed to a rise in cost of living and made it difficult for even those families with regular earnings to make both ends meet. The impact these fresh inflationary measures will have, by adding to the burden of the vast masses surviving below the poverty line with no regular incomes, cannot be underestimated.

· AIDWA calls upon women to resist the steep hike in petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices. AIDWA demands that the government should immediately give up these measures that will contribute to inflation and instead take steps to curve the increase in prices.

· The AIDWA calls upon the government to stem inflation and take back these measures. The Struggle to push back these policies has to be strengthened by all sections of people.

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AIKS & AIAWU Demand a Take Back of Oil Price Rise

New Delhi, June 4: The All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) and All India Kisan Sabha(AIKS) has jointly issued the following statement:

The All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) and All India Kisan Sabha(AIKS) condemn the UPA government’s attempt to make the people pay for the increased profits of global oil dealers. The soaring prices of oil have been fuelled by a trillion-dollar speculation on the world market. The Indian Government, instead of resisting this gross profiteering, takes its own pound of flesh in the form of a tax on the value of oil just as the private companies who have made contracts with the Indian Government before the price-rise have benefited unduly from the recent speculative windfall.

The sky-rocketing prices of oil have given super-profits of crores of Rupees to international private companies like Cairns and Reliance, among others, while public sector companies are sustaining losses of around Rs.500 crores per day. It is disgraceful that the UPA government should choose not to touch private profiteers and burden the public sector and Indian people, some 72% of whom are in the rural areas, where nearly 2 lakh peasants have committed suicide on account of the vagaries of the international agricultural prices and the rising costs of inputs and no less than 20,000 have died of hunger in the last 8 years.

This new burden of Rs. 5 per litre for petrol, Rs.3 per litre for diesel and Rs. 50 per cylinder for cooking gas, is unacceptable to the already overburdened masses of this country. We demand that the price rise be ended, with private companies and the government reducing the losses by paying for the international oil price hike as they have already made enough money out of it.

We call on our members to come out militantly to resist this measure until it is revoked.

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Jharkhand Agitation Against Petroleum Price Rise By Left Parties

Ranchi, June 4: The Left Parties, CPI(M). CPI, Forward Bloc, RSP and Marxist Coordination Committee in Jharkhand – will resort to week long protest from June 5 to 11 against increase of petrol, diesel and cooking gas prices as announce by the central government today. This price increase will have cascading effect on food grains and other essential commodities. People are reeling under already increase prices of food items and other essential commodities.

The protest will include procession, mass meeting, demonstration during June 5-9; 2 hours rail rook, rasta rook from 10AM to 12 noon on June 10; and general strike on June 11 in the state of Jharkhand.

The Left parties demand roll back of price increase; cut in customs and excise duties, and imposition of windfall profit tax on private oil companies.

Left parties appealed to CPI(ML) and appeals to all secular parties, organisations and people at large to support the demands and agitation.

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All India Fair Price Shop Dealers Federation

We render our whole-heated support to the Bangla and Tripura bandh called by the left front on June 5, 2008. We are doing so since the issues calling of a bandh are shared and supported by us and we have been, in fact, crying hoarse against the rising prices of essential commodities, hike in the prices of fuel and LPG and a constant move of the UPA government to do away with the Public Distribution System.

We cannot but support the bandh call since we are mainly involved with the Public Distribution System and supply of essential commodities through the fair price shops. Hike in the fuel prices and LPG will not only hard-hit the consumers but will also have telling effect on us as our transportation cost will increase substantially and purchasing power of the middle-class, lower middle-class and the poor people will seriously be crunched down.

In short, we are supporting the bandh for the sake of survival of the middle-class, lower class & the poor and our very selves and as an open revolt against the anti-people policy of the UPA government.