Since the last price hike by the central government, there has been a lot of sounds of discontent from different quarters, specifically targeting the prime minister Mr. Manmohan Singh and the finance minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee. Most of the political leaders have taken this opportunity to fish in the muddied water. So, we have a General Strike on 31st May, called by the BJP (or is it NDA?), we have a UP bandh called by Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party, we have protest rallies by CPI(M) & the left front, and even by their sworn enemy, the TMC. At last, amidst this intolerable heat and humidity, some good news! We are going to have some off days to chill. And, in the process, Indian economy will lose some hundreds of crores of rupees. But, that's acceptable. After all, the interest of the common man is sacrosanct.
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Common man? Yes. At least the political leaders, as well as our netizens, would like everybody to believe that.
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You still end up asking an idiotic question. Who actually can be tagged as the all important "common man"? Now, come on! Please don't show the entire world the true depth of your intellect, you will be told. Still, you persist on knowing how the common man is effected by the hike in the price of the petrol. You will be told in a very condescending manner that the common man in India today owns 2 wheeler and 4 wheeler, goes to his workplace normally driving his own car, goes to the neighborhood market riding his bike and still you ask such questions. After all, isn't India shining? You shake your head in acceptance and walk away.
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In the fear of making a joker out of yourself, you fail to ask the questions that had been trying hard to open the lock-gate and come out of your mouth. There were so many of them. You wanted to know whether the people who cannot spend Rs. 32 per day in a metro or the people who earn Rs. 33 per day, are they called "uncommon man" ? The people who travel by public transport system everyday because they cannot afford a 2 wheeler, let alone a 4 wheeler, whether they also are called "uncommon man" or not. The villager, who depends on the 100 days work scheme, what's his tagline? How do you classify the hawker on the pavement, the conductor on the private bus, the porter at the rail station, the panwalah near your home, the newspaper hawker, the domestic help, the vegetable seller? And this list is endless. Are not they the numerically superior group of people? If so, following the principle of democracy, should not they be called the "common man"?
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Oh, come on! These are irrelevant questions and raised simply to derail the agitation of the leaders of the masses. So what, if the daily labourer and his family have to skip a meal due to the strike? If the people from the bottom most strata of the society go on empty stomach for half a day or one day, is that a big deal? After all, they are used to it.
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But, we, the empowered common men of India, cannot travel in the crowded buses amidst this heat and humidity. We cannot walk to the market as we don't have the time. We have to switch on the AC in the car to beat the heat. And, all these require petrol as the source of energy. So, if the Government has given a free hand to the oil companies in deciding the price, that is so unethical. So what, if the oil companies have to bear huge losses by selling petrol at a price lower than the cost? So what, if ultimately the taxpayers' money is being used for compensating the oil companies? At least, we bought petrol at a cheaper rate na!
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P.S. This information is issued in the public interest, and is for all those men and women, who put up posters on Facebook and other social networking forums, claiming to provide a "break-up" of the cost to final price for a litre of petrol.
At Kolkata, the actual break-up is as follows -
Petrol Cost: Rs. 44.70
Dealer Fee: Rs. 11.50
Central Taxes: Rs. 14.78
State Taxes: Rs. 16.90
End Price at the Pump: Rs. 77.88
Source: The Telegraph, Calcutta. Friday, 25 May 2012. Front Page.
End Price at the Pump: Rs. 77.88
Source: The Telegraph, Calcutta. Friday, 25 May 2012. Front Page.
তোমার লেখাটা আকর্ষণীয় । ভাষা এবং শৈলী দুর্দান্ত মানতেই হবে। কিন্তু যাদের তুমি সাধারণ লোক বলছ, তাদের জীবন কি এতে প্রভাবিত হয় না? আমিতো আতঙ্কিত আগামী মাস থেকে চাল-ডাল -তেলের দাম আবার কী হারে বাড়ে সেই ভাবনায়। বাসভাড়া ইত্যাদিতো নির্ঘাৎ বাড়বে। এটা মানি যে বন্ধকে যখন প্রতিবাদের হাতিয়ার হিসেবে নেয়া হয়, তখন অধিকাংশ মানুষ বিপন্ন হয়, অনেকের ঘরে সেদিন চুলো জ্বলে না। তাছাড়া, তেলের দাম দশ বছর আগে যেখানে ছিল ৩০ টাকা আজ এই দশ বছরে ৫০ টাকা আরো যোগ হলো প্রায়। তেলের রাজনীতিটা আমি কিছু কিছু বুঝি, দামের রাজনীতিটা তত নয়। দাম বাড়াটা কিছু খুব স্বাভাবিক প্রক্রিয়া নয়। তেলের বাণিজ্য আজকের পৃথিবীতে সবচে' বড় বানিজ্যগুলোর একটি। যুদ্ধগুলোর প্রায় সব ক'টাই তেল নিয়ে! মার্কিনিরা নিজের তেল প্রায় অব্যহৃতই রেখে দিচ্ছে। আর সব্বাই মিলে তৃতীয় বিশ্বের তেলের ভাণ্ডারগুলো দখলের প্রতিযগিতা করে যাচ্ছে। যে যে দেশে তে আছে তারা কেউ প্রায় শান্তিতে নেই ঐ সব তেলচোরাদের জ্বালায়। http://energy-mira.blogspot.in/2011/03/petrol-prices-india-during-last-10.html
ReplyDeleteSushantada, thanks for reading this with interest.
DeleteWhat I intended to say is that the political leaders should behave in a more responsible manner. When the Govt. was deregulating the pricing mechanism of Petrol, then some of these same groups had wholeheartedly supported the initiative.
In India, the commercial transport systems run of diesel, be it buses, trucks or trains or motor vessels. In most of the places, the taxis and the auto rickshaws run on either CNG or LPG. So, a hike in the price of petrol should not result in proportional hike in the prices of commodities.
Because of its direct correlation with prices of essential goods, diesel prices are controlled by the Govt. and is subsidized. Same holds true for kerosene and domestic LPG too.
Of course, the price hike will result in increased prices for petrol based products like lubricants and motor oil. This may ultimately lead to rising prices for commodities too, but definitely that hike won't be directly proportional.
A nice piece of well thought article. However, a few questions still bother the mind as we netizens cant just resist and we think, and we think a lot.
ReplyDelete1. When Pranab Daa is washing his hands off the hike saying its already de-regulated, who would take the responsibility for the act of de-regulation. After all we can's blame ISI or President Obama for this act.
2. The oil companies in question are all those where majority share lies with the Govt. The Pvt players are not bothered about the falling rupee as they earn through export. Hence some responsibility lies with the Govt.
3.Increase in Petrol price also triggers a price increase of Petrochemical products like Lubes, Brake oils etc. which are also used by the diesel run Public Vehicles, and most importantly the Goods Transport and hence directly related to the increase of the Price of essential commodities.
4. If Pranab Daa is so concerned about the profit of Oil Companies, why is he not giving some Tax exemption, afterall it would be wiser to give exemption in petrol rather than waiving excise duties of Gold Jeweleries.
5. The Bandh politics cannot be supported, yet, there is not a single political party in this country which can claim that it never called a Bandh. Then why blame and single out BJP/NDA.
6. lastly, if the Netizens or the so called salaried middle class are so much vocal these days, it is also a fact that they are the lone, honest Tax payers in the country.
Abhijit, thanks for reading.
DeleteAs for your questions, let me try and address them.
1. AFAIK, oil companies had checked with the central Govt. prior to increasing the price. They wanted to know whether the Govt. would be bearing the deficit on sale of petrol. They went ahead with the hike om being told that Govt. has nothing to do with petrol. I guess a falling rupee, international crude prices, embargo on Iran - all these can be held responsible.
2. True. But, businesses are run with the aim of earning profit. Moreover, why should taxpayers' money be wasted to subsidize somebody's travel to his/her office in the comfort of the personal car?
3. Yes. But the hikes are not in the same proportion.
4. And, welcome more fiscal deficit? Why?
5. There are mentions of other parties too, and in the same space. BJP/NDA has called a nationwide strike and hence will be responsible for by far the largest loss to the economy. Who has given them, or for that matter any other political party, to act in a manner that is detrimental to the nation as whole?
6. Yes, we are. But how much of that is by choice and how much is by compulsion? Plus, if you look at the creation of the parallel economy, you'll find that one Mrs. Indira Gandhi and her oppressive tax regime was responsible for that.