PETRO HIKE

Protests Continue Across The Country

THE Left parties will continue to protest against the price hike of petroleum products effected by the UPA government until it is rolled back, asserted Left Front leaders at a protest meeting held on November 9 at Rani Rashmoni Road in Kolkata. The West Bengal Left Front committee is observing a protest week against the price hike.

Anil Biswas, CPI(M) state secretary addressing the protestors warned the Congress not to take Left support for granted. “We want the UPA government at the centre to continue. But, if the Congress, the leading outfit in the coalition starts to reckon our position as a compulsion and continues taking anti-people measures, then it will be a great mistake for them”, he said.

Biswas criticised the opposition parties in the state for trying to target the state LF government on this issue leaving the real culprits, either the UPA government or the earlier NDA government which pursued such policies. It may be noted three different parties in the state – CPI(ML), SUCI and Trinamul Congress – have called for strike on three separate days.

Biman Bose, the state Left Front chairman, who presided over the meeting,  described such a call of strike without carrying out political campaign among the people as ‘childish’. He appealed to the Left Front supporters, who gathered in thousands, to build up resistance against anti-people policies of the UPA government. At the same time, he said, we have to combat such political dilution of an important form of movement as strike. Bose called upon people to foil the opposition parties call for strike.

CPI leader and one of the representatives of Left parties in the co-ordination committee between the Left and the UPA government, D Raja, in his speech said that the Left parties will take up this matter strongly with the government in the ensuing co-ordination meeting. He lambasted the Trinamool Congress for shedding crocodile tears saying “This party is part of the NDA, which during its tenure had dismantled the administrative price mechanism, and they have no right to take to the streets on this issue now.”

UTTAR PRADESH

The CPI(M) state unit observed November 6 as a day of protest in the entire state against the petroleum products price hike. The Party alleged that this hike in prices was effected despite knowing that the international prices of crude were decreasing in order to benefit the oil companies. This will result in higher inflation rate and general increase in prices of products. The Party demanded the central government to immediately roll back the price hike.

The Party cadre along with the people came on to the streets on this day in all districts, including Etawa, Auraiya, Lucknow, Sahranpur, Sultanpur, Varanasi, Balia, Allahabad, Mainpuri to protest this anti-people decision of the central government. They burnt an effigy of the petro-hike in Lucknow.

The Party state secretariat has called upon the people of the state to unitedly fight back this onslaught so that the central government is forced to effect a roll back. It stressed that only people’s struggles and unity will make the central government to desist from taking anti-people decisions and force it to implement the pro-people measures outlined in the CMP.

In Allahabad, activists belonging to SFI, DYFI, UPMSRA, Triveni Sheet Glass Union and CITU took out a procession from Allahabad University to district courts as a mark of protest. With banners proclaiming their opposition, the activists shouted slogans demanding immediate roll back. When they reached the courts premises, they were joined by workers belonging to local tempo-taxi union. Together they came on to the road and held a rasta roko and later burnt an effigy of petro-hike. The protestors were addressed by CPI(M) leader Harish Chand Dwiwedi, former SFI state secretary Sudheer Singh. Among those who participated in the action were former president of High Court Bar Association, Harvansh Singh.

In Mainpuri, CPI(M) activists and sympathizers took out a procession to the town’s clock tower centre on November 7 and burnt an effigy of the union petroleum minister protesting the hike. Among those who participated in the action included Party district secretary Dharmendra, CPI district secretary Hakim Singh Yadav, advocate Veer Singh etc. On the same day, DYFI activists took out mock funeral processions of the union petroleum minister in various parts of the town.

BIHAR

In Patna, DYFI-SFI jointly organized a protest programme on November 7 in front of Patna college where they burnt an effigy of union petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. Earlier hundreds of students and youth took out a procession from SFI-DYFI state office through the busy thoroughfares of the city protesting the petro hike. They shouted slogans against the central government for heaping burdens on the common man. After reaching Patna college, the procession turned into a public meeting after the burning of the effigy.

The meeting was addressed among others by SFI state president Naresh Yadav, SFI state general secretary Manoj Kumar Sunil, and DYFI state committee member Naveen Sinha. The speakers observed that the petro hike decision was in contravention of the CMP of the UPA government and demanded immediate roll back. They warned that the student-youth of the country would intensify the agitation if the government failed to rescind its decision.

DYFI state president Lallan Kumar presided over the meeting.

On November 10, SFI-DYFI activists burnt the effigies of union finance and petroleum ministers in all district centers.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

The CPI(M) organised a demonstration in front of the district collector office in Shimla on November 6 to protest the petro hike. The speakers addressing the protestors criticized the central government for increasing the prices of petro products twice since coming to power. They felt it was totally against the interests of the common man, particularly the steep hike in the LPG prices. They termed the hike in diesel prices as most unjust as it would have a spiraling effect on the prices of essential commodities. The CPI(M) leaders noted that the government embarked on such an anti-people decision right at the time of festivals and warned that the people will firmly reject such “gifts” of the government. They demanded the UPA government to immediately roll back this hike and also to function within the framework of the CMP.

CHATTISGARH

The CPI(M), CITU, MPMSRU activists held a demonstration in front of the district court in Durg on November 9 and submitted a memorandum to the prime minister through the deputy commissioner demanding withdrawal of the petro hike.

Addressing the demonstrators, CPI(M) district secretary Vakil Bharti said that the government could have absorbed the price increase in international crude by reducing the high custom duties and cutting the super profits of oil companies. He charged the UPA government of ignoring the pro-people measures outlined in the CMP and embarking on anti-people policies at the dictates of the World Bank-IMF.

Among those who addressed the demonstrators were CITU leaders P K Mukherjee, Umrao Singh Purami, MPMSRU leader A B Chakravarthy, DYFI leader DVS Reddy.

On November 6, CPI(M) and mass organizations’ activists took out a rally from CITU office in Bhillai to Jayaprakash Narayan Chowk and held an impressive meeting denouncing the petro hike.