Bahut Hui Mahangai ki Maar!
Bahut hui mehangai ki maar! Abki baar Modi sarkar!
That was BJP’s well-known slogan before coming to power in 2014. Today, the skyrocketing price of fuel, LPG cylinders, food items and other essential commodities is no longer an issue to BJP, the PM Narendra Modi and the Godi Media. Let us look at some plain and simple statistics of the Acche Din:
| 2014 (May) Then | 2022 (May) Now |
|---|---|
| Petrol : ₹71/litre | Petrol : ₹105/litre |
| Diesel : ₹55/litre | Diesel : ₹96/litre |
Crude oil price in international market in May 2014 was $105/barrel. In later years it fell down to a significantly low level of which common people received no benefit at all, since Modi government saw “opportunity in despair”. They keep on increasing central excise duty and people are facing heavy increase in price of fuel due to this. Currently, for every litre of petrol, the Centre collects ₹27.9 as tax, whereas in 2014, that component was about ₹10.4. Excise duty on petroleum collected by Centre has TRIPLED since 2014. For the year 2014-15 it was ₹99,069 crore, which has increased more than three times to ₹3, 72,970 crore in 2021-22. Acche din – not for the people, but for the Modi Government!
| LPG domestic cylinder (14.2 Kg) | LPG domestic cylinder (14.2 Kg) |
| 2014 March (Then) | 2022 May (Now) |
| ₹410 | ₹1,003 |
This amounts a whopping 144% rise in LPG cylinder prices in last 8 years. Due to this, India is having most expensive LPG cylinder in the world, based on purchasing power parity. Interestingly, from October 2021 to March 2022, there was no change in the rate of domestic LPG cylinders. But once the assembly elections got over in five states, the prices have been increasing continuously. Since then and again, the country has seen a constant rise in price of cylinders in last few months. On March 22, the domestic cylinder price was increased by Rs 50. After that, the rates were again raised by Rs 50 on May 7, and then the hike on May 19 by Rs 3.5 took domestic LPG prices past the 1,000-mark. What an achievement, Modiji!
Further what we are observing is that people who were given LPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri UjjwalaYojana (PMUY) are not able to get the cylinders refilled due to the high prices. More than 90 lakh beneficiaries of Ujjwala scheme in the country had not refilled their cylinders even once during 2021-2022. 1.08 Crore people have only managed to refill it just once in the entire year, petroleum companies’ reply to a Right to Information (RTI) query revealed.
After this heavy price rise in fuel prices and LPG cylinder, on 21 May 2022, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that centre will reduce the central excise duty on petrol by ₹8 per litre and on diesel by ₹6 per litre. The move will reduce the price of petrol by ₹9.5 per litre and of diesel by ₹7 per litre, she added. She also announced that the Centre will give a subsidy of ₹200 per gas cylinder (up to 12 cylinders) to beneficiaries of the Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana. This brings the price of Cylinder to Rs 800 to the beneficiaries of UjjwalaYojna. This price still remains two times more of what it used to cost in year 2014.
It is important to note that this move is coming just six months before the upcoming state election in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and only after a strong public outrage. Going by the trend of Modi government’s approach, it seems only a matter of time when prices will rise again due to increase in excise duty.
| Edible Oils | Price in 2014 (Then) | Price in 2022 (Now) |
|---|---|---|
| Palm | ₹68.5 | ₹160 |
| Vanaspati | ₹70 | ₹170 |
| Mustard | ₹91.5 | ₹187.5 |
| Groundnut | ₹116.5 | ₹188.5 |
| Soybean | ₹77 | ₹170 |
| Sunflower | ₹90 | ₹190 |
The above figures clearly show that the prices of edible oils have skyrocketed in year 2022 in comparison to year 2014. Apart from this, Wholesale price index inflation in April jumps to 15.1%, highest in 17 years. India’s Retail Inflation rose to 8 year high at 7.79% in April, 2022. Rural inflation rose to 8.38%.
Skyrocketing Inequality
On one hand, where common people continues to bear the burnt of price rise, Modi government is busy in filling the pockets of his corporate friends. The extent of inequality in India can easily be comprehended by the fact that top 10% of the population own 65% of total household wealth in India and the top 1% owns 33%, one-third. For the facts, earning merely Rs 25,000 monthly, in today’s times of high inflation, puts one in India’s top 10%. This implies 90% people of our country living on an income below Rs 25,000.
The crony capitalism is on rise in Modi raj, leading to massive inequalities. In the last 10 years, Mukesh Ambani’s wealth has grown 400% while Gautam Adani has seen a 1,830% increase in wealth. Adani alone added $49 billion in his wealth in 2021, more than any other billionaire. This massive accumulation of wealth comes at the price of high inequality, which has only kept on growing over the years. AA (Adani Ambani) ki saath, AA ki vikas!
This country is ours, not for the ultra rich friends of BJP. When Godi Media is either absolutely silent or wants to distract people with venomous communal agenda – we must raise our voice, we must fight back!
Bahut hua mehangai ki maar!
Nahi Chahiye Modi sarkar!
