Left Front said they would oppose the move on the floor of Parliament, when the extended budget session begins on May 10.
NEW DELHI: The left parties on Thursday objected to the move to hike fuel price. They asked the government to "overhaul" the pricing system so that consumers are not burdened. They said they would oppose the move on the floor of Parliament, when the extended budget session begins on May 10.
Urging the government not to go ahead with its proposal to increase petroleum prices, they said it could manage the situation by re-structuring "the tax component for petroleum products".
The UPA government is set to hike fuel prices in the face of hardening global prices. According to reports the government is mulling a Rs 2-3 per litre hike in petrol and diesel prices as oil firms are losing around Rs 10 per litre on fuel due to hardening global prices.
"It is true that the international market was soaring but there are various ways and means to control the fuel prices within the country," said CPI general secretary AB Bardhan. The Left parties had suggested that the pricing system should be overhauled to avoid burden on the consumers, Bardhan said.
He added, "This is so particularly about the diesel, the main fuel for transport system because if diesel prices are increased, it will have a cascading effect on essential commodities."
CPM parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha, Basudeb Acharya, wanted to know why the government was thinking about the increase in fuel prices when a brief Parliament session was to begin on May 10.
"We want the government not to go ahead with its proposal. We will oppose the government move on the floor of the House."
All India Forward Bloc leader Devarajan said the Left parties had submitted a detailed note to the UPA-Left Coordination Committee wherein they had suggested that the oil companies must adopt strict austerity measures and not spend lavishly on advertisements.
"It is the duty of the government to protect the people from unnecessary price hike as any increase will have a cascading effect on the below poverty line families, the poor and the middle classes who are already reeling under the impact of the sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities," Devarajan said.
CPI national secretary Shamim Faizi suggested that the surplus funds lying with the oil companies and the government in the Pool Account needed to be utilised to offset the increase in the international market.
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