People's Democracy

        LF Warns UPA Govt Over Petro Hike

THE Congress itself shall be responsible for the consequences if it chooses to go ahead with anti-people steps without heeding the Left. This note of warning was issued from a big rally of the Left Front organised at the Rani Rashmoni Road crossing in Kolkata on August 8 to protest against the decision to hike the price of petrol and diesel.

Addressing the meeting, state secretary of the CPI(M) and Left Front leader, Anil Biswas said that if the UPA government chose to adopt economic policies that were similar to those implemented by the previous BJP-led government, “it shall have to meet much the similar fate.” 

This was the first time that the Bengal Left Front had taken to the streets against the UPA government since it was formed. Biswas declared that if the Congress-led union government chose to take anti-people steps, it became the responsibility of the Left Front to take the issue to the people and oppose it stringently. The Bengal Left Front, said Biswas, was committed to the cause of the common people who would be put to discomfiture because of the fall-outs of the fuel price hike.

Biswas pointed out the necessity of reviewing the ‘Gulf War tax’ implemented by the then union government 13 years ago. The UPA government ought to have taken the Left into confidence before taking any steps concerning the people’s welfare and interest.  There must be a permanent coordination between the UPA government and the Left over the issue of fuel price stability.

Anil Biswas said that over the past six years, the BJP government had let loose both social and economic chaos, and the Left had supported, subsequently, the Congress-led UPA government in the hope and expectation that it would move away from the path chosen by its predecessor. The Left wanted to sincerely cooperate with the UPA government. But the Congress, too, must cooperate on its behalf over matters of public interest, in particular. The UPA government must not be allowed to move ahead with its policy without any consideration for the Left point of view.

Noting that a coordination committee was of late set up with the participation of the UPA government and the Left, Biswas explained to say that the coordination committee must not be allowed to degenerate into a platform where the Congress would merely explain the steps taken by them as the leader of the UPA government. If the Congress reduced the importance of the CMP, the responsibility of the consequences shall be Congress’s alone.  The Congress must not forget that the UPA government could become a feasible entity because of the long and arduous struggles and movements of the Left. He also pointed out that the BJP, on its part, had no moral ground to say anything over the fuel price hike since during their régime there had been such hikes almost every six or seven months.

Left Front chairman, Biman Basu who presided over the rally said that the Left reserved the right to criticise the UPA governance if the union government did not abide by the Common Minimum Programme. Support from outside never connoted that the UPA government would go ahead and did whatever it chose to and the Left would maintain a polite silence. There was no feasible reason for the two successive price hike of fuel, commented the CPI(M) leader.

Biman Basu said that it was the view of the Left that a long time period would be needed for the pro-people aspects of the CMP to be thoroughly and completely implemented. The need of the hour was a change in outlook that was not, unfortunately, forthcoming from the UPA governance. There was yet to be a draft made of the National Employment Guarantee Act. The new HRD minister spoke about bringing in astrology as part of the students’ syllabi. There was need to launch a popular movement over these and other issues.

Biman Basu demanded that the price of fuel should be revised downwards. With the hike in operation, the common people would be put to distress because transport costs and transport excise duty would concomitantly increase.

Other speakers at the rally were: Debabrata Bandyopadhyay (RSP), Satya Bhattacharyya (CPI), Nihar Roychoudhury (Forward Bloc), Moni Pal (Socialist Party), Subhas Roy (RCPI), Ratanlal Agarwal (DSP), and Sunil Chaudhury (Biplabi Bangla Congress).

(BP)