Government downplays Left move for motion in Rajya Sabha on fuel prices

The government on Wednesday downplayed a move by Left parties for a Statutory Motion in Rajya Sabha seeking reduction of fuel prices, which could test the real strength of the ruling NDA in the Upper House.

"There is a 30-day time (for the motion to come up)," Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said when asked about the motion moved by CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury. Yechury had said on Tuesday that the motion has to be disposed of. "Either I withdraw or the House rejects it and that has to be done through vote," he had said. The government does not enjoy a majority in Rajya Sabha and opposition parties there have often tried to corner it over several issues.

The government had recently increased excise duty by amending Central Excise Act and the Left wants the duty to be brought down instead, its Parliamentary Party Leader Sitaram Yechury said, adding that a vote on the issue will force all parties to take a stand on it.

Yechury is insisting that petrol and diesel prices would be around Rs 40 and Rs 35 respectively if the government had passed on the benefits of the fall in international crude prices to consumers and not allowed private companies to make a "windfall".

Replying to a question on the bill on coal block allocation introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the Minister ruled out referring the bill to any select committee. Naidu said that passage of the bill is "need of the hour" as the issue involved lot of public money and there was need to raise the coal production.