Left hones plan to have petro price hike reversed

Sharpening their strategy, the Left parties are planning moves to make the entire Opposition, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, to vote on a single cut motion in the Lok Sabha to force the government to roll back the hike in the prices of petroleum products.

"Though every party is planning to move cut motions on the Finance Bill, we want to ensure that all the members of the Parliament (of Opposition) together vote on a single cut motion -- the one on rolling back the customs and excise duties on petrol and diesel," CPI general secretary A B Bardhan told PTI.

While the Left parties are in talks with secular Opposition parties on a joint strategy during voting on the budget in the Budget session resuming from April 15, they are not not averse to BJP and its allies supporting a joint opposition cut motion.

Cut motion is a Parliamentary device by which the Opposition records its dissent against a government's proposal by seeking a token cut in the demands for grants of a ministry.

If the motion is adopted, it amounts to defeat of the government on a money matter and the government of the day has to resign.

Within the ruling United Progressive Alliance, parties like Nationalist Congress Party and Trinamool Congress are opposed to this decision (increase in duties on crude and petro products).

"Let us see what their stand is (when the cut motion is taken up)", Bardhan said.

"Now, the government has to decide. Our effort is not with any intention to destabilise the government, but to exert maximum pressure on it so that it acts very decisively (to bring down prices). No longer can the government turn a deaf ear to our demands," Bardhan said.

The four Left parties are also roping in parties like Samajwadi Party, Telugu Desam Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Biju Janata Dal, Lok Janshakti Party, Indian National Lok Dal and Janata Dal (Secular) to launch a nationwide action to protest government's 'failure' to prevent rise in prices of essential commodities, probably a 'Bharat Bandh' (nationwide general strike) in the last week of April, the veteran communist leader said.

A meeting of all these parties has been convened on April 12 to chalk out the protest plans.

The Bahujan Samaj Party is yet to convey their decision on whether to join these protests. Asked whether BJP and Janata Dal (United) had been contacted for the protest action inside and outside Parliament, he said, 'technically, there have been no talks with them.'

"If they (BJP, JD-U) do it (protest action) simultaneously, then it will be good. There is no point in giving separate calls," Bardhan said in reply to questions.

Accusing the government of doing 'exactly the opposite' of what the Left parties have been demanding, Bardhan said it had not accepted any suggestion of the Left like banning future trading in essential items, making Essential Commodities Act more stringent or universalising the PDS.

"Even yesterday's meeting of the prime minister with chief ministers, nothing concrete has been worked out. Only three committees have been set up.

"Now they (government) are cleverly involving the chief ministers so that the blame is not just on the Centre, but is shared by the states which do not have anything to do with formulating policies which are fuelling inflation," Bardhan said.