Kochi: Fuel prices are getting dearer almost daily. Petrol price rose to Rs113.02 in Kochi on Sunday after a spike of 87 paise per litre. Diesel price increased to Rs 99.98 with a rise of 85 paise.
Petrol costs Rs 115.01 and diesel Rs 101.83 in Thiruvananthapuram. It is Rs 113.2 and Rs 100.18 respectively in Kozhikode.
In the last 10 days, price of petrol has increased by Rs 8.71 and diesel by Rs 8.42.
The latest hike has been the 11th since March 22 which was preceded by a a four-and-half-month period when the rates were not revised apparently over polls in five states.
Kerala CM's demand
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday sought the urgent intervention of the central government to deal with the "uncontrolled rise in fuel prices" in the country, saying it has exacerbated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.
Vijayan, in a Facebook post, blamed the neo-liberal policies initiated by the Congress for the current situation, which was further continued by the BJP.
"The lives of ordinary people have become miserable due to the uncontrolled rise in petrol and diesel prices. This has exacerbated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy," Vijayan said in his post.
He noted that the price of a commercial LPG cylinder was increased by Rs 256 recently and during the last five months its price was raised by Rs 530 per cylinder.
At present, the price of a cylinder is around Rs 2,250.
"The reason for the current situation is the neo-liberal policies initiated by the Congress which were further strengthened by the BJP. Through the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM), the central government handed over the power to fix petrol/diesel prices in the Indian domestic market to oil companies and privatised the oil, mining, refining and distribution sectors," Vijayan said.
The CM further alleged that the BJP was moving fast along the path paved by the Congress for the welfare of the corporate sector, ignoring the people.
"The union government should understand the plight of the common man due to these policies and reconsider them," the CM wrote.
Instead of writing-off the Rs 8.75 lakh crore loans, among which corporate loans accounted for the bulk, it should have been used for subsidy purposes, he added.
