'Govt should keep decision to raise gas prices in abeyance'

CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta today asked the government to keep in abeyance its decision to raise natural gas prices till concerns regarding pricing and shortfall in production were discussed by all stakeholders.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta urged him to "reconsider the decision to raise prices of natural gas and keep it in abeyance" until the issues were openly debated with all stakeholders.

Accusing Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily of making "contradictory statements" after the Cabinet decided on hiking the gas prices to USD 8.4 per unit from USD 4.2 from April next year, he alleged that the Minister's statement was "at variance with his own calculations presented to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

"This is clearly an attempt to mislead the people by trying to underplay the quantum of increase in prices."

Dasgupta also attacked the Finance Ministry of remaining "completely silent" on the "huge shortfall in production and its disastrous consequences for the economy."

"Issues are now being sought to be obfuscated: the Finance Minister is trying to cover up his complicity and the quantum of price increase is being underplayed by the Petroleum Minister," the CPI leader claimed.

He said that with the doubling of gas prices from the present USD 4.2/mmBtu to 8.4/mmBtu, the total outgo is likely to be around 8 billion dollars in addition and would severely hit the power and fertiliser sectors with a cascading effect on the economy.

Dasgupta was earlier joined by leaders of other Left parties to ask the government to put on hold any move to hike the price of natural gas from RIL's KG basin and hold wider consultations with concerned ministries and the states before taking any decision in the matter.

The Left leaders had demanded that the issue be discussed in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament as any increase in the gas prices would be effective only from April 2014.