NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday asked the Central Government to reduce the price of diesel and petrol to the pre-June level since the price of international crude oil was currently hovering around $57 to $58 a barrel as against the peak of $71 a barrel during May this year.

The party general secretary, Prakash Karat, wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying he strongly felt that the price hike should be reviewed again in the light of recent developments. The current level of prices, he said, was comparable to the average crude price of $55 to $56 a barrel in 2005.

Concurrently the reported proposal by Petroleum Ministry to Finance Ministry for reduction of excise duty by Re. 1 a litre on petrol and diesel was a welcome step towards rationalisation of tax/duty structure of petroleum products to reduce the burden on the consumer.

Mr. Karat said the high dividend of Rs. 6417 crore paid by the Oil and Natural Gas Commission and the Rs. 1,460 crore paid by the Indian Oil Corporation to the Government was reassuring in the context of their financial health.

He said, as per his information, even the lowest profit-making oil marketing company like the Bharat Petroleum Company Limited had paid a handsome performance/profit-linked incentive to its senior executives and others for 2005-2006.

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