Petrol, diesel price hike and the Prime Minister’s lies
The hike in the price of petrol and diesel has triggered anxiety in the country. The middle class is ready to explode like a cylinder any time. Even as the price of petrol hit the century mark in Rajasthan on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time chose to open his lips and utter a few words. He said: “previous governments are responsible for the hike in prices. The previous governments did not pay any attention to reducing the dependency of India on imported fuel.”
This clarification from the Prime Minister has provoked the people. Modi made the statement forgetting that he had led the previous government. The Modi-led government took on the reins for the first time by pointing fingers at the hike in price in petrol and gas cylinders during the UPA regime.
But, after taking over office, the Modi government not only failed to regulate the petrol price but created a situation where even when the price of fuel in the international market has reduced, the cost of petrol in the country has skyrocketed. During the previous UPA government, even when the price of crude oil increased substantially, the prices in India had not increased to this extent.
What does reduction in the dependency on imported fuel mean? Have prices increased due to the excessive consumption of petrol? Maybe Modi issued such a clarification assuming people to be fools. The reason for the increase in fuel price is due to the interference of the government.
Otherwise, today people would have been the beneficiaries of the reduction in crude oil prices. Due to the Coronavirus and other global political developments, the price of crude oil came down by over Rs 50 in the international market since the first week of March 2020.
As a result, the price of petrol and diesel should have fallen by at least Rs 25 since the government had left it to the market to decide oil prices. Because of the policy that consumers must pay according to the rise or fall in prices of crude oil, the government initially saved itself from accusations of being responsible for price rise. In anticipation of benefiting from the reduction of crude oil price, the consumer tolerated price hikes every time.
Luckily for the consumer, in March 2020 due to the intensification of price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the price of crude oil in international market fell by about 31 per cent. Such a fall was the highest since the 1991 Gulf war. India imports more than 84 per cent of crude oil. Previously, when the price of crude oil increased internationally, Indians, who invested heavily, could reap the benefits of fall in prices.
Ironically, the government backstabbed the people. The government that so far defended the price hike by stating that it had no role to play in fixing prices started levying a heavy excise duty the moment the price of crude oil fell in the international market. The benefit of the fall in prices that had to reach the consumers is now reaching the pockets of the government. The economy has completely collapsed due to the government’s wrong economic policies and a situation has been created where the common man has to pay for this. As the price of crude oil has been slowly increasing since May 2020, the price of petrol is also increasing every day.
When the country’s economy had collapsed, a nationwide lockdown was imposed to face the Coronavirus. When the lockdown has now been relaxed, people who were economically destroyed are now in the process of reconstructing their livelihood. This is when the continuous rise in the fuel price is hitting them hard.
A general increase in transport cost has followed the lifting of the lockdown and the hike in petrol prices is cited as a justification. When the transportation cost increases, the cost of commodities also increases. The price of all commodities other than that of farm produce has been slowly increasing. When demand falls, the price of commodities should reduce. But here everything has turned upside down.
When people have lost their ability to purchase commodities, the price of commodities has shot up. When a situation has been created where there are no people to travel in cities, the cost of transport has increased. The government is taking the people for a ride. Previously, when the price of crude oil increased in the international market, people purchased petrol without blaming the government.
Now, when the price of crude oil has decreased internationally, people should benefit from this. The government should therefore withdraw the additional excise tax on crude oil. Similarly, if previous governments are to be blamed for everything, why is Modi in power? And if Modi fails to bring the situation under control, the NDA must obtain the resignation of the Prime Minister and replace him with a person suitable for the position.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
