NEW DELHI: The "actual character" of the Congress and the "dual character" of the Left, which is supporting the United Progressive Alliance coalition Government stand "exposed" by the increase in prices of petrol and diesel effected by the Government, Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh charged on Tuesday in Bhubaneshwar even as he announced a one-week countrywide agitation programme starting with a `rasta roko' call for Wednesday.

The statement made by Mr. Singh was released here to reporters by the party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar. The "actual character" of the Congress was against the `aam admi' — this stood exposed — and the "dual character" of the Left was there for all to see as it "quietly supports the Government and then pretends it is against Government policies, including that of increase in prices of some petroleum products."

Mr. Javadekar said on Wednesday in all the metropolitan cities and other select towns, including national capitals, party workers would block traffic between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. For the next six days, the agitation would take the form of protest meetings and `dharnas.'

He said that when the UPA Government came into office the price of petrol was around Rs. 30 a litre. Now it ranges from Rs. 47 to Rs. 52 a litre. The international price of crude was not the correct reason for the increase as "more than 50 per cent of the price is made up of Central and State duties."

Uniform policy

Asked whether the BJP State Governments would reduce the sales tax or other local duties, he said it must be a uniform policy and could not be done in a piecemeal way.

"We demand the total withdrawal of the hike in prices" for these would have a spiralling effect on prices of all goods, Mr. Javadekar said. "In spite of high international crude prices, even today the Government can afford to sell petrol at about Rs. 27 a litre," he added. He rejected a suggestion that the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh, had agreed to the government suggestion that the price increase was inevitable.

The subsidy for petroleum products stood at Rs. 11,300 crore during the National Democratic Alliance rule, he said. This had now been slashed to Rs. 3000 crore. The burden of the new price hike on the common man would be more than Rs. 10,000 crore. The revenue earned by the Government from all kinds of duties on petroleum products last year was a staggering Rs. 1,26,000 crore, he said.

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