The Hindu : National : BSP: withdraw hike or face withdrawal of support

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BSP: withdraw hike or face withdrawal of support

Special Correspondent

Mayawati says her party will launch a nation-wide protest movement

Reducing tax is not a permanent solution
It is already low in Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI: The Bahujan Samaj Party will launch a nation-wide protest movement against the hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas.

At a press conference here, party president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said the high prices would break the backbone of farmers, the working class and the middle class. “If the UPA government does not withdraw the increase, our party will go ahead with the country-wide protest movement. This is a warning to the UPA government; if it does not heed it, our party’s next move will be to withdraw support to the Congress-led coalition at the Centre.”

Disagreeing with the view of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that States should reduce their taxes and levies on petroleum products, she said it was not a “permanent solution.”

Ms. Mayawati said the Centre had given oil exploration work to either private or foreign companies. But these were not interested in extracting more oil for the needs of the country.

Citing the sales tax at 27-30 per cent on petrol and diesel in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra, Ms. Mayawati said Uttar Pradesh kept the rate in the lowest slab, 26 per cent on petrol and 21 per cent on diesel.

“We are not even levying Value Added Tax on petrol and diesel. If needed, we will take steps for the welfare of our people in the State.”

She blamed the high prices of essential commodities and runaway inflation on the “lopsided and wrong” economic policies of the NDA and UPA governments.

On the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections, Ms. Mayawati said the BSP managed to garner a three per cent vote share.

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