Kerala CM seeks Centre’s intervention to deal with ‘uncontrolled’ fuel price hike

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday sought the urgent intervention of the central government to deal with the “uncontrolled rise in fuel prices” in the country, saying it has exacerbated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.

Vijayan, in a Facebook post blamed the neo-liberal policies initiated by the Congress for the current situation, which was further strengthened by the BJP.

Petrol and diesel prices were on Saturday hiked by 80 paise a litre each, taking the total increase in rates in the last 12 days to Rs 7.20 per litre. This is the 10th increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22.

“The lives of ordinary people have become miserable due to the uncontrolled rise in petrol and diesel prices. This has exacerbated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy,” Vijayan said in his post.

He noted that recently, the price of a commercial LPG cylinder was increased by Rs 256 and during the last five months, its price was raised by Rs 530 per cylinder. “At present, the price of a cylinder is around Rs 2,250.” “The reason for the current situation is the neo-liberal policies initiated by the Congress which were further strengthened by the BJP. Through the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM), the central government handed over the power to fix petrol / diesel prices in the Indian domestic market to oil companies and privatised the oil, mining, refining and distribution sectors,” Vijayan said.

The CM further alleged that the BJP was moving fast along the path paved by the Congress for the welfare of the corporate sector, ignoring the people.

“The union government should understand the plight of the common man due to these policies and reconsider them.” Instead of writing-off the Rs 8.75 lakh crore loans, among which corporate loans accounted for the bulk, it should have been used for subsidy purposes, he added. PTI