Petrol price: Vayalar Ravi joins Opposition and allies’ chorus

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Even as the government distanced itself from the hike and reduction of petrol price while maintaining that the product being a deregulated commodity and oil marketing companies (OMCs) decide on the issue, dissenting voices from within the Union Cabinet joined the Opposition and UPA allies bandwagon to express dissatisfaction over the cut by only Rs 2 and demanded a complete rollback of the hiked price.

Distancing the government from the see-saw movement in prices of petrol, minister of state for petroleum R.P.N. Singh first refused to call it a roll back and then said, “Petrol is a deregulated commodity and OMCs take the decision when to raise them and when to bring them down.”

Overseas indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi, while becoming the second member of the Union Cabinet after defence minister A.K. Antony, who disapproved of the recent steepest ever hike in the price of petrol.

Shooting off a letter to petroleum and natural gas minister Jaipal Reddy, he questioned the claims of oil companies that they are incurring huge losses and asked his cabinet colleague to scrutinise the issue in detail.

“Apparently, the claim made by oil companies that they are running at a loss seems to be untrue. As a matter of fact, the expenditure of oil companies, including salaries, is among the highest in India and there is a perception that funds are being wasted,” Ravi said.

“In this backdrop, I feel a closer scrutiny is needed before deciding on any further increase in oil prices. Instead, a bold look may betaken at reducing the recent hike,” the minister demanded.

Meanwhile, TMC leader and West Bangal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, while talking to reporters in Kolkata, expressed dissatisfaction over 'token' Rs 2 per litre cut in petrol price. She said, “I am not happy at the cut in petrol price by Rs 2 per litre. It is not enough. It is still a burden on the common man. There should have been a total roll back of the hike.”

Another key UPA ally DMK’s T.K.S. Elangovan has also demanded a complete roll back of the hiked price.

Maintaining that the party will not settle with anything other than complete rollback BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap wondered whether the hike of `6 per litre after the partial cut was 'acceptable' to UPA allies. “I want to know whether they are worth this,” he said, adding that people of the country are not satisfied with the token roll back and will teach UPA a 'lesson in the coming days'.

Terming the reduction in petrol prices as 'totally inadequate', CPI national secretary D. Raja demanded that the OMCs should go for a 'complete rollback' because they had effected 'such an outrageously steep hike when international crude prices were declining'.