Shri Provash Ghosh, General Secretary, SUCI (C), has issued the following statement today:
When life and livelihood of the toiling millions of the country, already back-broken by ruthless and escalating capitalist oppression, are further threatened by rapid spread of Covid-19 pandemic and prolonged lockdown clamped abruptly and without any preparatory measures, prices of essential commodities including basic food items are spiraling alarmingly with the governments, both at the centre and in the states remaining passive onlookers. This is engendering further devastation in people’s life. Of late, even pharmaceutical companies are reported to have approached the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority seeking price increases for various essential medicines including some drugs being used for Covid-19 treatment, citing shortages and rising costs of raw materials. Price rise is an endemic feature of capitalist system. But, with continuous price hike of petrol & diesel and hoarding black-marketing, price manipulation and widespread speculation over prices of food grain in the capital market being rampant due to savage fiscal and monetary policies as well as a slew of anti-people pro-capitalist measures like increased privatization and liberal commercialization of the government, this upswing in prices particularly during any calamity is unbridled.
Suffering people need to understand the truth that harrowing price rise is entirely man-made and hence the urgency to raise united voice of protest.
