The Hindu : Kerala News : LDF calls dawn-to-dusk hartal

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Thursday, Jun 05, 2008
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Kerala

LDF calls dawn-to-dusk hartal

Special Correspondent

To protest against the increase in petroleum product prices

Milk supply, hospitals exempt from hartal
Price hike is avoidable, says LDF convener

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal on Thursday to protest against the increase in prices of petroleum products.

Front convener Vaikom Viswan said here on Wednesday that the hartal had been called as the price increase was avoidable. The Left parties had placed proposals that could help avert such a measure, but the government decided to go ahead with the heavy price hike. The price hike would further aggravate the miseries of the people who were already reeling under rising inflation levels and spurt in the prices of essential articles. The government decision was most deplorable and must be fought tooth and nail, he added.

The LDF convener said milk supply, newspaper distribution and hospitals would remain exempt from the hartal which would begin at 6 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. All the major pro-LDF unions and service organisations have come out in support of the hartal call. Terming the government decision inflationary, the CITU State secretariat said it could have been avoided if the government accepted the Left parties’ proposal for changes in the tax structure.

‘Will hit Kerala more’

Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Veliyam Bhargavan said the minor changes in the tax rates would not help mitigate the impact of the steep hike in the prices of cooking gas, diesel and petrol. He pointed out that Kerala would be worst-hit by the price hike as the cost of bringing essential commodities from the other States would now go up sharply. This would result in another bout of ‘back-breaking’ price increase, he added.

All India Transport Workers’ Federation general secretary K.K. Divakaran, MLA, termed the price hike arbitrary and called upon transport workers to strike work on Thursday and make the hartal a success.

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