Rising fuel prices hit livelihood
There was a time when newspapers splashed banner headlines about a small hike in fuel prices. There was also a time when people would resort to street protests on a regular basis to protest against such hikes. But not anymore as such hikes have become a norm these days. Oil price hikes invariably have a cascading effect on the price of other essential goods and commodities, thereby impacting the lives of people. A hike in fuel prices lead to an inevitable increase in the fares of public transport that are ostensibly meant to serve the common man. It also makes transportation of goods services more expensive, creating a ripple effect on the lives of consumers. In the past, aware of how their lives would be impacted, people would come together and organize protests regularly. But, over the last decade, the frequency as well as intensity of protests is decreasing. People are hesitating to raise their voice against the anti-people policies of the governments due to the weakening of labor laws and labor organizations coupled with the fact that the governments have become more autocratic. The muted response of the people towards the policies is encouraging the government to subject people to more agony.
When the whole country is in deep distress because of the coronavirus and the lockdown, petrol and diesel prices are being increased on a daily basis. Monday was the 16th continuous day of such a hike. During this period, petrol price has seen an increase by Rs 9.21 and diesel price by Rs 8.55. When the global crude oil price has seen a reduction, what is the government’s justification for increasing the oil price on a daily basis?
The repeated rise in the oil price is entirely due to the government’s intervention in the price mechanism. Due to the coronavirus impact and other global political developments, the price of crude oil price had reduced by about 50 per cent in the international market since the first week of March. As a result of this, the petrol and diesel prices had to reduce by about 25 per cent at least. Since 2014, the government has not been responsible for fixing oil price. The government was committed to allowing the oil price to be decided depending on the price of crude oil in the international market. Making consumers the beneficiaries of both a hike and a reduction in crude oil price, the government escaped facing the brunt of oil price hikes. Every time there was a hike, the government expressed its helplessness by citing the international oil market fluctuations.
By March, however, the price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia intensified as a result of which the price of crude oil dropped by about 31 per cent. This has been the second such collapse in oil prices after the Gulf war in 1991. India imports more than 84 per cent of crude oil. Having paid a higher price for fuel in the past, when price of crude oil had increased in the international market, Indian consumers should have rightfully benefited from the current round of falling crude oil prices. Ironically, the government has now cheated the people by increasing the oil prices. The government, which has so far claimed that it had no role in fixing oil prices and justified price hikes, imposed a heavy duty on the import of oil immediately after the price of crude oil fell in the international market. The benefits that had to reach consumers are now reaped by the government.
The country’s economy has collapsed as a result of the government’s faulty economic policies and people are being made to pay a heavy price for this. From May, when the international oil price slowly started increasing, oil price has also been increasing on a daily basis in the country. When the country’s economy was in the doldrums, a nation-wide lockdown was imposed to fight the Corona virus. Now, when the lockdown has been eased, people have been economically destroyed and are on the verge of building new lives. In this context, if the price of oil is increased on a daily basis, how can people rebuild their lives? Though the lockdown has been relaxed, public transport fare has been increased significantly. Even auto rickshaw operators demand a higher minimum fare citing increasing fuel price. The government has approved such an increase as a result of which the transportation cost of goods has also shot up. Naturally, such price hikes lead to an increase in prices of goods. Barring agricultural produce, the price of all other goods has slowly increased.
Generally, a reduction in demand leads to a fall in price of products but not so in the present context where we are seeing a reversal in this trend. While people have lost their purchasing power, the prices of goods have gone up. When there are no people to travel, the cost of public transport has been increased. The increase in oil price is making people, whose lives are already in shambles, choose to stay at home permanently.
The government should therefore immediately withdraw the additional duty on crude oil and reduce oil prices to enable people to resume their life and livelihoods. At the same time, the government should initiate action to reduce the fares of public transport.
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Kharge dares PM Modi to take steps against BJP leaders who talk about altering Constitution
Kishanganj/Katihar (Bihar) (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take action against BJP leaders who have stated that the Constitution will be changed if the saffron party won more than 400 seats in Lok Sabha.
Addressing back-to-back election rallies in Kishanganj and Katihar Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, Kharge also came down heavily on former Congress ally Nitish Kumar, alleging that the Bihar chief minister had "no principles" and, hence, was "more dangerous" than even the BJP.
"Modi has, of late, been showing a lot of reverence for the Constitution. If he means what he says, how are leaders of the BJP able to get away with their statements? Why is he taking no action against them", said Kharge, referring to recent utterances by leaders like Anant Hegde, Jyoti Mirdha and Lallu Singh.
The Congress president alleged that the BJP was out to implement the agenda of the RSS "which had played no role in the struggle for the country's independence", and warned that "the ongoing elections are critical for saving democracy and the Constitution in the country. If we fail, our future generations will suffer".
Kharge also lashed out at Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), saying, "Our ally Tejashwi Yadav (RJD leader) has many times lamented the betrayal of his chacha (uncle). I say it is good riddance. People like Nitish Kumar are more dangerous than the BJP and RSS, which at least have a known ideology, however flawed. Nitish Kumar has no principles. He cares only for power".
Notably, Kumar dumped the INDIA bloc that he had helped form a few months ago when he returned to the NDA, less than two years after having snapped ties with the BJP accusing it of having tried to engineer a split in JD(U).
"The double engine in Bihar often meets with accidents, causing the train carriages to decouple", remarked Kharge, referring to the "unstable" nature of the BJP-JD(U) alliance.
He also lambasted Modi for "always alleging that in 70 years nothing substantial was achieved in the country and blaming the Congress for it". Kharge pointed out, "Our leaders like Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi lost their lives in attacks by terrorists who targeted them because they were trying to uphold the integrity of the nation."
Kharge also said the people should ask Modi what happened to his promise of 'achche din' (good days).
"Nowhere are to be seen the doubling of farmers' income and Rs 15 lakh in every person's account, drawn through black money he had promised to bring from abroad. Does he mean by 'achche din' skyrocketing prices of petrol and cooking gas and unemployment at an all-time high?," the Congress president asked.
Kharge also accused Modi in particular and the BJP in general of splurging money on "propaganda", and remarked "the source of their funding has become known. The electoral bonds were the biggest scam.
Companies have been shown to have bought bonds worth several times their turnover. Many business entities purchased these after raids by investigating agencies".
Kharge also alleged that central agencies, like ED, CBI and the Income Tax department, were being used to settle political scores and claimed that "more than 20 political leaders, who faced corruption charges, have got a clean chit after joining or allying with the BJP".
Urging the people to vote for the Congress and its allies, Kharge said, "Do not be swayed by the 'Modi ki guarantee' gimmick. You will not be able to hold anybody to account once the elections are over".
He also enlisted promises made by the Congress in its manifesto, like caste census, raising of MGNREGA wages to Rs 400 per day, the "right to apprenticeship" for youth and Rs one lakh annual dole to poor women.
"Modi says he saw an imprint of the Muslim League in our manifesto. I wonder what he means by that. Are all young people and women Muslims", Kharge asked with dismay.
