Government of India in order to bring local oil
prices in an accord with the international market increased the diesel prices
last week after a long hiatus. Last time the petrol prices were raised
just after the commencement of voting in five states, raising many eyebrows and
doubting government intentions. The government cannot solely be blamed for the
opportunistic behaviour, as every ruling party in the country has followed the
same way of thinking.
"When it comes to
political opposition, the ideology matters less."
Never missing the chance to bully
the government, the opposition parties throughout the county used the stand of
the government to cry out loud against the union wrong economic policies and
took out protest movements to show the unrest in the minds of people. Majority
of the protest sites were in the states ruled by the opposition parties and in
other places they disobeyed the local administration orders thus overall
disrupting the normal life of people.
Do such protests
yield any result?
Should government roll back the oil price hike?
As already stated, such protests
are politically motivated and have no or little public support. Such protests
are not more than the demonstration of power by the opposition. And in the recent
case it looks like the power of opposition has slipped only to the states being
ruled by them. A call for the full day closure of the country hurts the country
economic stature badly which subsequently adds to the inflation and burdens the tax-payer. So in no way
whatsoever protests like the last week yield desired results.
Government of India by increasing
the oil prices at this crucial juncture added nails to its coffin. Yet, it
seems to be a much thought of process. Economically it’s a move to provide some
air of relief to the debt ridden oil companies. Politically government knows
that none of the opposition party including the NDA is in a better situation to demand for
early parliamentary elections which are scheduled for 2014. And the government cleverly knows
the fact that the Indian voter if once bombarded with lavish pre-election
promises forgives the past mistakes. If the government rolls back the price
hike then it will again become a laughing stock before the opposition.
So what’s the
solution?
Amazingly, the production of oil
from the Middle East over the years has increased still the supply lacks far behind
the demand. In my earlier post on the petrol price hike I wrote on how to limit
your transportation cost and switching to eco-friendly ways while travelling. Use
of public transports must be encouraged and private vehicles must only be used
at when utmost desired. Bicycles prove to be the cheapest and eco-friendly mode
of transportation for small distances. Use of public transports and bicycles
will surely help in reducing the burden on the refineries and will somehow
assist in saving the ailing environment.
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