Comrade Provash Ghosh, General Secretary, SUCI(C), has issued the following statement on 2 June 2018 :
The monstrous rise in the retail prices of petrol-diesel systematically over the past few weeks and the recent announcement of a hefty rise of Rs 50 in LPG cylinder price have virtually robbed the common people — already back-broken by the growing economic assault perpetrated by ruling capitalist class and its servitor governments including the BJP-led central government — of the capacity of bearing the burden anymore. Despite countrywide demand for slashing the tax component on fuel price —which is roughly 100% if one takes the base price of refined oil — for giving some relief to the countrymen, the central government in keeping with its anti-people character is refusing to accept that on the plea of concomitant depletion in revenue collection. Moreover, while the government has been giving a false excuse of this price spiral being attributed to spurt in the international crude price which, it is known to all, is artificially manipulated by the major imperialist forces led by the US imperialists, there is no initiative on the part of the government to mobilize global opinion against them and use all diplomatic channels to force them to dissuade from this nasty game of manipulation.
Under the circumstances, suffering people have no alternative but to close their rank in right earnest and release a powerful organized protest movement throughout the country to force the government to reduce the taxes imposed on petrol-diesel and thereby bring down the retail tariff and also roll back the phenomenal escalation in LPG price. We call upon the people to develop this movement with all their might.
