People's Democracy

Enough is Enough

CITU asks Govt to Scrap Parikh Committee Report

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions issued the following statement on  February 8

 THE CITU denounces the government�s reprehensible insensitivity to the plight of people of the country, reeling under skyrocketing price rise of essential commodities specially the food items, in light of its decision to consider Parikh Committee�s report on pricing of major petroleum products viz petrol, diesel, LPG and Kerosene. Knowing fully well that any hike in price of petroleum products as recommended by the committee, would aggravate further the present unbearable price rise, the government is making renewed attempts to deregulate the pricing only to allow the private sector oil marketing companies both domestic and foreign to sell their products at global price under �import parity pricing� method which is notional and nonrealistic and has no link with actual production cost.

The CITU strongly opposes government�s concerted attempts in this regard to ignore the parliament where an unanimous report of Parliamentary Standing Committee of Petroleum and Natural gas on �Pricing Of Petroleum Products� was placed in August 2005. The committee had recommended a) to scrap the import-parity pricing method for assessing the so called under recoveries or losses which are actually notional loss, b) to rationalise the taxes/duties on petroleum products, c) to form a price stabilisation fund, by using the money collected from cess on crude oil produced by public sector PSUs and d) to curb windfall profits to private refineries. The so called expert committee of M/s Rangaranjan, Chaturvedi and Parikh, hand picked by the government can not over ride the findings of a parliamentary committee.

The CITU therefore urges upon the government to reject forthwith the Parikh Committee report and implement instead the parliamentary committee recommendations which would reduce the present taxes/duties on petroleum products. The CITU calls upon the working class to organise nationwide movement including strike incase there is any hike in the price of kerosene, LPG diesel and petrol. Time has now come to tell this insensitive corporate-captive government � Enough is Enough.