NEW DELHI: The Left parties on Tuesday decided to protest the hike in petrol and diesel prices and asked the State units to mobilise people against the move.

Describing the hike as "unjustifiable," the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said it has come less than three months after the increase in June. The Rs. 2 increase in diesel price would badly affect the farmers and hike transportation costs. This would affect the prices of all commodities.

In a statement, the party's Polit Bureau said that keeping in mind the ever increasing international oil prices and to cut the losses of the public sector oil companies, the CPI (M) had demanded that the Government give up the increase in Customs duty and forego the increase in Excise duty due to higher prices.

The party had sought suspension of the duty-free benefits for exports and withdrawal of the sales tax concessions to private refineries. It had also demanded suspension of the road cess hike of 50 paise a litre.

"If these steps had been taken, the loss suffered by the oil companies could have been checked and the burden not passed on, mainly to the consumer. The taxation of petroleum products must be immediately reviewed, the party said.

"A small mercy"

The Communist Party of India has said the hike could have been avoided if the Government had listened to the Left parties' suggestions. "It is a small mercy that LPG and kerosene, the fuel of the poorer sections and the middle classes, have been spared." The diesel price hike would have a cascading effect on prices, affecting all sections of society, the party said.

"Yet another betrayal"

The CPI (ML-Liberation) termed the fifth hike in 15 months as "yet another betrayal" of the common man by the United Progressive Alliance. The Government neither had the political will nor a long-term policy to deal with the rising petrol prices in the international market, it said.

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