The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today described as “shocking and scandalous” the decision of the Congress-led UPA government at the Center to decontrol diesel price regime.In a statement here, Badal said that the decision would not only unleash uncontrollable inflationary forces, resulting in an all-round and back-breaking hike in the prices of all essential commodities, but it also smacked of a massive scam.The Chief Minister demanded an immediate withdrawal of the decision. Badal said that with one stroke, the government at the center “has swelled the pockets of the rich oil companies by robbing the already beleaguered common man, especially the farmers. The decision brings back memories of the scam-tainted manner in which almost all the major policy decisions of the UPA government had been taken in the past. But this one could turn out to be the worst, considering the magnitude of its implications, both for the economy as well as for the beleaguered “aam admi”. “The decision is a give-away on how much the UPA is hand in glove with oil companies, out to enrich them and making the common man foot the bill for this enrichment,” he said.The Chief Minister further said that the hike in the prices of diesel as a result of deregulation would seriously retard the already slack pace of economic growth. ”Diesel prices in India are out of synch with the paying capacity of the common man and the new decision would send inflation, already touching double digits, spiraling out of control . The impact on transport sector would mean an escalation in transit costs and therefore a steep jump in overall price-index. Badal said that the biggest hit of this decision would be taken by the farmers all across the country, especially in Punjab, accustomed as the Punjab farmers are to intensive agriculture. Already, the UPA had systematically and persistently targeted the farm sector through its decisions affecting subsidies on agricultural inputs like fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides etc. But its latest decision would have the greatest dampening effect on this sector, severely dampening production of all crops, especially food-grains. That in turn would not only push up the food bill of the common man but also seriously endanger food security in the country. This would have a serious impact on the general cost of living, hitting both the producer and the consumer in the country. Diesel was a major input in farm operations. In addition to that, the fuel price hike was also certain to further impact prices of fertilizers, pesticides etc.
The Chief Minister said that he would take up the issue with the center during his next visit to Delhi. The SAD would also enlist the support of other like-minded parties to put pressure on the government to reverse this decision, said Badal.