CPI demands rollback; warns Centre of paying a heavy price

Kolkata, Jun 5 (UNI) Demanding immediate rollback of the fuel price hike, Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary A B Bardhan today said the UPA Government at the Centre would have to pay a heavy price if it did not reconsider its decision.

Addressing newsmen here, Mr Bardhan congratulated the people for making today's bandh a grand success and reiterated that the agitational programme would continue until and unless the hike was rolled back.

'' We have been pursuing the Centre for the past two to three years for some alternative proposals. Though earlier under the Front pressure, prices were brought down to some extent, the hike this time will only pave the way for the private companies like that of Reliance Industries to make more and more profits, '' he asserted.

Apprehending that the inflation would touch the double digit mark in the immediate future, Mr Bardhan demanded a cap on the use of government vehicles for bringing down the consumption of fuel.

To a query on withdrawing support to the UPA Government, he said, '' We have been giving a thought to it, but we are yet to take a decision in this regard. The Front will have its meeting on June 23 and several important issues, including that of extending support to the UPA, will figure. '' Commenting on tomorrow's Trinamool Congress-sponsored statewide bandh, Mr Bardhan said if the the party wanted, it could have called the bandh today itself as the issue was just the same.

Also commenting on the RSP's coming out of the Core Committee, he opined that Committee had become defunct since 2006 and it had lost its importance, but the RSP was with the Committee pertaining to the IAEA.

'' We have been discussing with regional parties in some states to call bandh in protest against the price hike. While Orissa and Andhra Pradesh will observe bandh on June six, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Jharkhand would observe bandh on June seven, ten and eleven respectively, '' Mr Bardhan informed.

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