Ban futures of essential commodities: Yechury

Govt awaits the Abhijit Sen Committee's report to make decision.

Senior CPI-M leader and Member of Parliament Sitaram Yechury today sought immediate ban on futures trading of essential commodities even as the government is waiting the Abhijit Sen Committee report.

Last year, the government banned futures trading of wheat, rice, urad and arhar and constituted the committee to find out any link between price rise and futures trading. The committee is yet to submit its report.

"It (ban on four commodities) is not sufficient. Other essential commodities need to be banned for futures trading so that prices are stabilised," Yechury said on the sidelines of an Assocham organised function.

A great degree of uncertainty happens in futures trading, he said, adding when "speculation is allowed, it benefits only traders."

Asked to comment on the rise of prices in certain pulses despite the ban, he said, "It would have been much more had futures trading been allowed."

"We have been saying that you cannot stop price rise of essential commodities unless futures trading is stopped," he said, adding his party would continue to put pressure on the government on the issue.

Expressing that CPI-M would oppose any decision to increase prices of petrol and diesel as it did in the past, Yechury said the government should first give the profit (to oil companies) it has earned from taxing the petroleum products.

The difference in the tax calculated on the crude prices - then and now - should be returned to the oil companies to compensate their losses instead of raising the prices of petrol and diesel, he suggested.

Reminding the audience that the UPA government had rolled back hike in petroleum prices twice in the past, he said "let's see what the government decides."