Andhra Pradesh - Ongole   

Fuel price hike: Left parties to continue stir

Photo: Srinivas Kommuri

Burning issue:Leaders of Left parties staging a protest in Ongole on Wednesday. —

ONGOLE: Slamming the Congress-led UPA Government for failing to rein in inflation in keeping with its promise to people, activists of four Left parties on Wednesday staged a joint agitation in front of the Prakasam Bhavan here demanding immediate rollback of the increase in fuel prices. Leading the protest, CPI district secretary M Venkaiah, CPI(M) district secretary J Anjaiah, CPI(ML) district leader S Lalitha Kumari, and CPI(ML) New Democracy district leader Kongara Narasimham vowed to carry on protracted struggle to press for withdrawal of the hike, immediate steps to check price rise, strengthen public distribution system.

Addressing the activists, Mr Venkaiah said the Manmohan Singh government had dealt yet another cruel blow to common people when they were reeling under the impact of spiralling prices.

The high tax regime on crude oil to fill the coffers of the Centre was mainly responsible for the very high prices of petroleum products in the country, said Mr Anjaiah.

The increase in diesel price would result in increase in transportation cost and have a cascading effect on all goods and increase the sufferings of the common people, CPI(M) town secretary G V Konda Reddy said.

The UPA Government's neo-liberal economic policies were responsible for the present sorry state of affairs with big corporate houses knocking away with huge profits on indigenous oil and gas, Mr Narasimham opined.

CPI town secretary U Prakash Rao said the Centre which had failed to keep its commitment to zero duty on petroleum products when the administered pricing mechanism was dismantled.

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