Karat attacks UPA on food inflation, petroleum price hike

KOLKATA - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Sunday slammed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for failing to control rising food inflation and repeatedly hiking petroleum prices and said it will launch a countrywide agitation.

“As far as price rise is concerned, price of petrol has again increased by Rs.2.52. On the one hand, the government fuels inflation. But still it talks about trying to curb price rise,” CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat told media persons after a two-day politburo meeting here.

“The government has failed to control food inflation. We have been asking them to curb the forward trading of food items,” he added.

“We will discuss the matter with other left parties and other secular parties and will plan a countrywide agitation against price rise and government’s failure to control price rise of essentials,” said Karat.

With international crude prices going toward the $100 per barrel mark, the three state oil-marketing companies, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, hiked their petrol price Rs.2.50-Rs.2.54 per litre from midnight Jan 15.

Karat also took a dig at the Trinamool Congress (the second biggest party in the UPA) for staying quiet on the fuel price hike.

“They are part of this government and they have to answer how they are party to such policies which is causing such an unbearable burden on the common man,” he said.