Petrol: Karat meets Mulayam, Karunanidhi for anti-hike coalition

Unwilling to watch from the sidelines as the government plans a petroleum price hike, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday to build a coalition against the hike.

Unwilling to watch from the sidelines as the government plans a petroleum price hike, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday to build a coalition against the hike.

The CPI(M) chief is expected to draw support from RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and also plans to talk to non-BJP NDA members on the issue, party sources said.

The petroleum price hike issue formed an important part of the discussions during the recent CPI(M) Politburo meeting where it was pointed out that its prices were raised no fewer than four times in the last year.

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This will be the core issue when the Left parties meet on June 1 to draft a letter to be sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh insisting on greater compliance of the National Common Minimum Programme. The Left parties will also point out the poor public distribution system, foreign policy and the privatisation of airports.

The CPM plans ‘‘bigger mass movements’’ in the coming days if the UPA government continues to ignore it on key issues.

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