NEW DELHI, June 9: The CPI(M) would launch a 16-day nationwide agitation from July 15 if the government hikes the price of petroleum products, instead of bridging the Rs 24,500-crore deficit in the Oil Pool Account through less `disastrous' measures, said CPI(M) politburo member, Sitaram Yechury.Yechury told mediapersons here today that the Left would oppose the proposed price hike at the June 15 meeting of the United Front steering committee. He claimed that the Left had the support of other parties as well, but refused to name them.Releasing a booklet entitled ``Oil pool deficit or Cesspool of deceit'', Yechury said the CPI(M) was not opposed to the dismantling of the method used for determining the prices of petroleum products.When pointed out that one-third of the heavily-subsidised kerosene was being diverted for adulteration in diesel, he said there was a need to check such diversion, rather than narrowing the price difference between kerosene and diesel. He said the Finance Ministry collected Rs 17,560 crore in 1996-97 from the oil sector, but the latter ended up with a deficit of Rs 9,800 crore. Terming it as fiscal indiscipline, he said the government should ``stop milching'' the oil sector.Instead of passing the burden to the people, the government should tax the richer sections who were given a ``bonanza'' in the 1997-98 budget, he said.Yechury, who had raised the issue in the last steering committee meeting, said that the government appropriated huge sums through duties levied on petroleum products. Prices of various petroleum products were raised in July, 1996, resulting in an inflow of Rs 7,000 crore. Of the total amount, the Finance Ministry took away Rs 4,200 crore as import and excise duties. Only Rs 2,800 crore was diverted to the Oil Pool, he said.He said the cess collected till March 1997 from crude oil to raise surplus for Oil Industry Development Board was Rs 28,900 crore. However only Rs 902 crore was transferred till 1991-92 and not a single paisa afterwards. ``The Finance Ministry has a vested interest in the sector. More the import, the higher the customs duties earned by the government.''
