THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘Absolute nonsense’ was the reaction of Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on the reported statement of Alphons Kannanthanam that petrol and diesel are used by the rich and thus the Union Government is purposefully jacking up the cost. ‘’Kannanthanam uttered nonsense in the matter of beef consumption also, but ate a humble pie and wriggled out when it became a controversy,” Chennithala said, adding that with the Union Minister’s candid admission on petroleum prices here on Saturday, the collusion between the Union Government and corporate houses stands exposed now. Poking fun at the Union Minister, in a statement, he said that one needn’t have an IAS to comprehend that fuel price hike affects not those owning vehicles alone.
“Even kids know that rising fuel cost would lead to all-round price rise and the poor will be the most affected lot. Besides,the Planning and Analysis Cell of the Union Petroleum Ministry itself states that 61.42 per cent of consumers of petroleum products are two-wheeler owners. Cars make up for only 33 per cent of the whole consumption,” he said.
“On a crude product costing just C20 per litre, the selling price after processing is C74 for pertrol. The Central and state governments are slapping heavy tax on the commodity, virtually indulging in daylight robbery upon the people. The daily pricing in vogue now is only for favouring choice corporates of the BJP Government and not for constructing lavatories for the poor as claimed by Kannanthanam,” he said.