A slew of protests planned in Kerala even as government cuts sales tax on petrol

The CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has called for a 12-hour hartal in Kerala on Monday in protest against the hike in petrol price. BJP's state unit has also called for a hartal on the same day.

The 12-hour hartal will be from 6 am to 6 pm, according to Vaikam Viswan, convenor of LDF. The front has demanded that the central government should revoke the administrative pricing mechanism (APM) for the petroleum products in the wake of the serious economic crisis and rising inflation.

The Kerala State Petroleum Traders Association will observe a one-day strike on Monday, closing down all the retail outlets in Kerala in protest against the price hike. The association also plans to stage a dharna in front of the office of the state-level co-ordinator of the oil companies in Kochi.

Eariler on Friday, the All Kerala Motor Workers Union had called for a one-day strike on Monday. Later LDF and BJP have called for the hartal.

With the protests against the hike mounting, the Kerala government decided to withdraw the sales tax part of the increased price, thereby reducing the price by 70 paise per litre. The chief minister Oommen Chandy said the state's treasury would loose Rs 108 crore with this decision, but the government had decided on it in order to provide relief to the petrol users.

This is the third time the Kerala government is taking such a decision. Immediately after the UDF government was sworn in it had evaded the increased tax content of the petrol price. The state has already lost Rs 386 crore through this.

The state's exchequer had lost around Rs 122 crore in May when the petrol price was increased and later it lost Rs 156 crore when such a decision had taken on the following diesel price hike. In May the petrol price had been reduced by Rs 1.22 per litre and the diesel price was reduced by 75 paise/litre. The average price for petrol has now been reduced to Rs 68.56 per liter from Rs 69.26.

Meanwhile, a number of Congress leaders including the chief minister have severely crticised the increase in the petrol price as this would put Kerala in a tight spot. The chief minister Oommen Chandy said there might be reasons for the oil marketing companies for enhancing the price, but this would adversely affect the daily life on the common man. The state government can only withdraw the increase in taxes that that his government is doing promptly, he added.

Veteran Congress leader and a former minister VM Sudheeran has crticised the act of the companies as anti-people and demanded its withdrawal. The government should take control of the pricing of petroleum products and APM should be re-instated, he said. He also demanded that an all-party delegation should meet the prime minister and should explain the difficulties that Kerala is facing.

Defence minister AK Antony said there was no other way before the oil companies, but to enhance the price. He also asked other state governments to follow the act of Kerala in providing some relief to the public.

Most of the Congress MPs from the state have urged the center to withdraw the price hike as they face stiff resistance from the public. In the discussions on the local TV channels, Congress leaders find it very difficult to defend the price hike.

On Friday, Kerala saw incidents like stone pelting on KSRTC buses and blowing up of government vehicles on Friday. The police lathicharged the violent squads of the oppoisition parties in several places in which several people had been injured. A number of central government offices as well as those of the oil companies have also been damaged in the violent agitations.

The chief minister has urged the opposition to withdraw the hartal call in the wake of the reduction in price, but LDF is admant on the move. It is expected that the daily life would be paralysed in the state and all the universities has postponed the examination sheduled on Monday. There will not be regular classed in schools and colleges.