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The CPI(M)-led Opposition LDF and the BJP on Saturday called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kerala on Monday as part of intensifying their agitation against the Centre’s policy of allowing oil companies to overburden the common man with frequent fuel price hikes despite the Congress-led UDF Government’s decision not to charge tax on the hiked petrol price.
In the meanwhile Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told newsmen in Kozhikode on Saturday that the Government had decided to forgo the tax on increased petrol price “in order to bring some relief to the people” in the context of the Rs -3-a-litre hike. He said the loss of additional revenue to the State by this would be to the tune of Rs 108 crore.The State Congress itself remained sharply divided on the issue with senior leader VM Sudheeran calling upon the Centre to rollback the increased petrol price and to take back the authority to determine petrol price in the country from the oil companies while most party leaders struggled to term the increase as necessary evil.
At an urgent LDF meeting held on Saturday noon at Thiruvananthapuram, the constituent parties unanimously decided to intensify the agitation against the fuel price hike. They said the State Government had decided to forego the additional tax revenue as a matter of compulsion and that this was not enough to take away the burden the Centre imposed on the people.
Calling for hartal, State BJP president V Muraleedharan said that his party would launch intense agitations against the frequent fuel price hikes. He said ad hoc arrangements of forgoing tax on hiked price were not the solution to the problem of frequent hikes. On Saturday, the BJP held a protest march to the State Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.
Monday’s hartal will coincide with the State-wide vehicle strike sponsored by the coordination committee of trade unions of motor vehicle workers, ensuring total paralysis of road traffic in the State. LDF sources said that the agitation on Monday would be just the start of agitations and that protests would continue against the fuel price hikes.
With this, there would be a relief of 70 paise per litre on petrol price in Kerala, Chandy said. The petrol price per litre in Kochi since Thursday midnight had been Rs 69.26 and the new measure would bring it down to Rs 68.56, Chandy said. The UDF Government had forgone the additional tax when petrol price was hiked by Rs 5 a litre in May.
The additional revenue loss of the State due to the May decision was to the tune of Rs 122 crore. Also, it had suffered a loss of Rs 176 crore by the decision to forego additional tax when diesel price was hiked.
“Together, these would cause a revenue loss of over Rs 400 crore but the Government feels that it should do this to mitigate the plight of the people,” Chandy said.
However, Sudheeran, known as a clean Congress leader in the State, said such steps were not sufficient to put an end to the price pressure on the people. “The petrol price hike cannot be justified in any context. The Centre should take back the authority to determine the fuel prices in the country,” he said.
He further said that the State Government should send a delegation to the Prime Minister with this demand and that the Chief Minister should lead this delegation. “Has anyone given the companies the right to push the people into poverty just because they argue that they are running in loss? There should be a regulatory system to control the oil companies,” he said.
At the same time, the hartal called by pro-CPI(M) youth outfit DYFI in Thiruvananthapuram district on Saturday was total. Some incidents of attacks on buses were reported from some places in the district. The hartal was called to protest against Friday’s “brutal” police action on DTFI and SFI activists who were agitating against the petrol price hike.
In the meanwhile Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told newsmen in Kozhikode on Saturday that the Government had decided to forgo the tax on increased petrol price “in order to bring some relief to the people” in the context of the Rs -3-a-litre hike. He said the loss of additional revenue to the State by this would be to the tune of Rs 108 crore.The State Congress itself remained sharply divided on the issue with senior leader VM Sudheeran calling upon the Centre to rollback the increased petrol price and to take back the authority to determine petrol price in the country from the oil companies while most party leaders struggled to term the increase as necessary evil.
At an urgent LDF meeting held on Saturday noon at Thiruvananthapuram, the constituent parties unanimously decided to intensify the agitation against the fuel price hike. They said the State Government had decided to forego the additional tax revenue as a matter of compulsion and that this was not enough to take away the burden the Centre imposed on the people.
Calling for hartal, State BJP president V Muraleedharan said that his party would launch intense agitations against the frequent fuel price hikes. He said ad hoc arrangements of forgoing tax on hiked price were not the solution to the problem of frequent hikes. On Saturday, the BJP held a protest march to the State Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.
Monday’s hartal will coincide with the State-wide vehicle strike sponsored by the coordination committee of trade unions of motor vehicle workers, ensuring total paralysis of road traffic in the State. LDF sources said that the agitation on Monday would be just the start of agitations and that protests would continue against the fuel price hikes.
With this, there would be a relief of 70 paise per litre on petrol price in Kerala, Chandy said. The petrol price per litre in Kochi since Thursday midnight had been Rs 69.26 and the new measure would bring it down to Rs 68.56, Chandy said. The UDF Government had forgone the additional tax when petrol price was hiked by Rs 5 a litre in May.
The additional revenue loss of the State due to the May decision was to the tune of Rs 122 crore. Also, it had suffered a loss of Rs 176 crore by the decision to forego additional tax when diesel price was hiked.
“Together, these would cause a revenue loss of over Rs 400 crore but the Government feels that it should do this to mitigate the plight of the people,” Chandy said.
However, Sudheeran, known as a clean Congress leader in the State, said such steps were not sufficient to put an end to the price pressure on the people. “The petrol price hike cannot be justified in any context. The Centre should take back the authority to determine the fuel prices in the country,” he said.
He further said that the State Government should send a delegation to the Prime Minister with this demand and that the Chief Minister should lead this delegation. “Has anyone given the companies the right to push the people into poverty just because they argue that they are running in loss? There should be a regulatory system to control the oil companies,” he said.
At the same time, the hartal called by pro-CPI(M) youth outfit DYFI in Thiruvananthapuram district on Saturday was total. Some incidents of attacks on buses were reported from some places in the district. The hartal was called to protest against Friday’s “brutal” police action on DTFI and SFI activists who were agitating against the petrol price hike.
