Left threatens stir against fuel price hike

'The govt should not sideline AAI in modernisation of airports'.

Emboldened by its success in recent Assembly elections, the CPI(M) today signalled its intention to play it harder with the UPA regime on crucial policy matters.

Emerging from a two-day long Politburo meeting in Kolkata today, party General Secretary Prakash Karat said the Left would launch a nationwide agitation if the government were to hike fuel prices.

He also left nobody in doubt that the ambitious modernisation projects of Kolkata and Chennai airports may have hit a roadblock with the Left allies of the UPA determined to block the privatisation route.

These pronouncements assume significance as they come after long deliberations by the Politburo on the policies of the UPA government in the past two years. The Politburo's report will be discussed at the CPI(M) Central Committee meeting from June 8 to 10 in Hyderabad.

Karat had earlier declared that the Assembly election verdict was also a mandate for the Left parties to increase their intervention in governance.

Reiterating the party's stance that the government should reduce taxes on petro products, instead of transferring the burden of the hike in international crude oil prices on to the consumers, the CPI(M) general secretary said the party would also try to rope in other democratic and secular parties in this agitation programme.

"We are confident that a large number of parties will come together on this issue," he said, adding that any attempt to impose a fresh burden on the people would have no justification and had to be strongly resisted.

On the issue of the modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports, Karat said, "The government should not sideline AAI which is a profit-making public sector enterprise. The AAI is competent and has reserves to modernise Chennai, Kolkata and other airports."

As for the reservation for the OBCs in educational institutions, although the party had chosen to bury its demand for the creamy layer criteria at the UPA-Left meeting, the CPI(M) said today that it wanted the quota to be available only to the weaker sections.

"As distinct from the SC and ST categories, there should be socio-economic criteria in reservations in educational institutions, which ensures that the needy sections among the OBCs benefit from the reservations," Karat told mediapersons.