Congress questions the conspiracy of silence being maintained by Badal duo, over the decontrol of diesel prices that will hit the farmers hard :- Khaira It is surprising and astonishing to note the conspiracy of silence being maintained by the Badal duo, a self acclaimed farmer champions over the deceitful decontrol of diesel prices by the Modi government. The Modi government may have very cleverly picked the opportune time to decontrol prices of diesel by announcing a reduction of Rs. 3.37 per litre due to steep fall of international prices of crude oil, but in the long run this policy of decontrol will have a devastating effect on not only agriculture, but will further add to inflation. It may be a matter of solace for the consumers, that crude oil prices of diesel in the international market have dipped from a high of 114.77 US $ per barrel on 25th June 2014, to a low of 86.28 US $ now, lowering the diesel prices by Rs. 3.37 per litre. But this is not a permanent phenomenon, since the international crude oil prices keep fluctuating day to day and may soon end up on the said 25th June 2014 price of 114.77 US $ per barrel. In such an event, the diesel prices can shoot up to Rs. 70 per litre, which would be unbearable for the farmers of the country. Needless to mention, the prices of petrol and diesel are more or less the same in developed countries like USA, Canada, UK etc., where the prices of diesel have been decontrolled since long (current petrol and diesel prices of Canada attached alongwith). These developed countries have fixed a subsidy on diesel to protect the farmers, by changing its colour. Would the Modi government ensure protection to the farmers on their pattern, by changing the colour of diesel for agricultural use, in case of upward swing in diesel prices? If the farmers are left to fend for themselves without any subsidy cover, the agrarian economy just cannot survive. In other words, the said fluctuation would have a damning and devastating effect on the farmers of the country. Similarly, decontrol of diesel will further add to the already high rates of inflation, as the transport sector is largely dependent on diesel. Last but not the least, the Ambani’s and Adani’s owning oil refineries, will be the biggest gainers of this new policy of decontrol and natural gas pricing. As we are aware, currently gas stations owned by the Reliance companies have been forced to shut down across the country, but they will flourish now under the new policy. Their oil refineries are likely to make huge profits with the increase of natural gas prices from 4.2 US dollar to 5.61 US dollars, i.e. a 33 percent increase. By decontrolling diesel and enforcing the natural gas price formula, Mr. Modi PM has repaid corporate giants like Ambani’s and Adani’s, for their massive electoral funding to the BJP. Therefore, Congress warns the Modi government of strong negative effect the decontrol of diesel will have on agriculture sector, it demands a suitable subsidy cover by changing the colour of diesel for agri consumption. The Congress also questions the stoic silence being maintained by Mr. Badal and his son, they should spell out their stand on decontrol of diesel? Sukhpal Singh Khaira Ex-MLA
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:12:17 +0000
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