Slamming the decision of the Centre in increasing the price of diesel by Rs 5 and restricting the number of subsidised LPG cylinders per household to six per year, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, on Thursday, said that if the UPA government had any concern for the welfare of the people, it should retract these decisions with immediate effect.
While the Centre had repeatedly promised efforts to curtail inflation, the frequent hike in prices of petroleum products, which resulted in sharp hike in rates of essential commodities, was an action directly contradictory to its claims, the Chief Minister said in a statement.
While the UPA government, of which the DMK is an ally, had pointed to the rising price of crude oil in the international market and the decreasing value of the rupee as reasons for increasing the rates of petroleum products, such an argument was a “weak one,” she said.
Had the Centre taken proactive measures to arrest the decline of rupee value after considering the production of oil in the country and the profits of the oil corporations, such decisions could have been easily averted. Instead, the Centre was pointing to such factors every time to support its move to hike prices of fuel. “Not only is this a wrong economic policy, but this will pave the way for further inflation,” she pointed out.
This will result in people of all sections being forced to pay extra fare for transport. “This apart, the prices of essential commodities, fruits and vegetables will shoot up. Farmers who use diesel for their bore pumps will also be adversely affected,” she said.
Tearing apart the decision to impose restrictions on subsidised LPG cylinders, the CM wondered if one cylinder for two months would be sufficient for a family. “This move to restrict subsidised cylinders to six per year will affect the poor and middle-class,” she pointed out. She demanded that the Centre immediately retract the decision if it had any concern for the welfare of the people.
Comments
0 comment