Left to Centre, don't go for fuel price hike

New Delhi, Feb 7 (UNI) The Left parties today asked the Centre not to go in for a hike in fuel prices which would not only burden the common man and add inflationary pressures, but rather do away with the ad valorem duty structure and replace it with specific duties to ensure price and financial stability.

At a press conference on their proposals for Budget 2008-09, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan said, price stabilisation fund for petrol products should also be set up with the resources generated through the oil cess.

To a specific query on the status of the Sixth Pay Commission, Mr Karat said, the Commission is in the final stage. But he did not give the time framework saying, ''It will come, it will come.'' To a question on the impact of recession in the US economy in India, the Left leader said, it would not only impact the developing and the underdeveloped countries but also the developed ones.

''We must create a certain degree of immunity to this recession and this is why we have asked the government not to allow the speculative capital in our economy,'' said the Left leader.

They also questioned against the inherent flaw in the US economy and asked the government not to allow full convertibility of the Rupee.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet, which was to meet today to take up the decision to hike prices of petrol by Rs 2 and diesel by Re 1 a litre along with the duty restructuring on petroleum products, put off the issue.

It seems the Centre would be taking more time in doing so as the issue is not listed for discussion at the Cabinet meeting.

UNI KSA SHB RP RN1922