They also threatened weeklong protest actions commencing from April 16 across the country demanding immediate intervention by the Manmohan Singh government to stop the spiralling price rise of essential commodities.

“The Left parties and the UNPA concretely demand that the UPA government must immediately implement measures to arrest this runaway rise in prices of essential commodities that are imposing untold misery on the common people,” CPI (M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechury told reporters in a news conference also attended by Amar Singh (SP), K Yerran Naidu (TDP), Left leaders Abani Roy (RSP), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc) and D Raja (CPI-M) here.

They demanded strengthening of the Public Distribution System (PDS) by universalising it and including 15 essential commodities including pulses, edible oil and sugar in the PDS.

Ban future trading
“Ban future trading in 25 agricultural commodities as proposed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution and cut customs and excise duties on oil and reduce retail prices of petrol and diesel,” Mr Yechury said.

They also demanded stringent action against hoarding of essential commodities and strengthening the provisions of the Essential Commodities Act to empower state governments to deal with hoarding and black-marketing.

Amar Singh said Samajwadi Party had in the past raised its voice jointly with the Left on various issues like the Indo-US nuclear deal and this time also his party would be supporting the protest actions of the Left on price rise. “During the last year the price of edible oils have increased by over 43 per cent, rice by 20 per cent and dals by around 18 per cent. Similar is the rise in the prices of fruits and vegetables,” he said.

Maintaining that the UPA had to pay a heavy political price if it failed to contain price rise, D Raja said the struggle had to be sustained with an “element of militancy” also.