Even before their meeting this evening with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Left parties seemed prepared for a petroleum price hike. Shortly before he left for the meeting—ahead of Tuesday’s Union Cabinet meeting—CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said at a press conference, ‘‘A petroleum price hike is imminent.’’ However, the CPI(M) and CPI leaders, who met the PM separately, gave him proposals detailing why a fuel price hike was not merited and said they would protest if the price was increased. The PM told them there would only be a ‘‘minimal increase’’ in oil prices despite the huge decrease in profits and dividends the oil PSUs were grappling with. As a case in point, he told them that even a navratna PSU like the Bharat Petroleum was facing monetary losses. Explaining why a hike was necessary, the PM said oil companies were facing a shortfall of Rs 35,000 crore, and the hike would enable them to recover Rs 10,000 crore. The profits and dividends of the oil PSUs were falling, he said. The PM pointed out that while international oil prices had gone up by 220 per cent, the price hike in India was only 60 per cent, Karat said later, adding that the party will ‘‘definitely protest’’ against any price hike. Karat and party Politburo member Sitaram Yechury gave the PM a note identifying six steps to reduce the impact of the price rise that would save nearly Rs 21,000 crore: suspending increase in road cess till the international oil prices declines to reasonable levels, foregoing the increased customs duty, as also the increased excise duty, making additional crude cess available for a stabilisation fund, reviewing and withdrawing sales tax concessions to private refineries, and recovering excise duty from Reliance Industries. CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan suggested lowering of excise duty, saying states should also be asked to reduce it. The PM told the CPI leader about revenue losses that the oil companies were facing, and indicated the inevitability of a price rise. Bardhan said if the government announces a price hike, his party would protest. Clarify plans for BHEL divestment: Karat NEW DELHI: CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat today said there were indications the Government was not proceeding with the disinvestment of BHEL. If the UPA gave a formal intimation to Left parties on this, they would return to the UPA-Left coordination committee meetings, he said. “There’s no problem there (once such an intimation came),” he said, hinting that it was only a matter of time before they returned to coordination committee meetings. ENS
