Veteran Left leader Gurudas Dasgupta on Wednesday complained to Election Commission against Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily claiming that he was defying the poll panel by not deferring the price hike of natural gas from $4.2 to $8.4 per mmbtu until the end of elections.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath, the CPI MP said Moily continues his open defiance of the Election Commission orders.
“It is learnt that even though the officials of the Petroleum Ministry have issued the order conveying the orders of the Election Commission to Reliance, Fertiliser Ministry and other stakeholders, the Petroleum Minister has recalled the file and overruled his senior officers and ordered that the price be notified immediately on May 17, with retrospective effect, i.e, April 1, 2014,” he said.
The senior officials of the Petroleum Ministry had proposed that the price increase be deferred for the quarter April-June 2014, since prices had not been notified in advance, and would be implemented for the next quarter July-September 2014, Dasgupta claimed.
However, he said, Moily overruled senior officials and ordered that the increase in prices be notified on May 17 and be applied retrospectively from April 1. This is another glaring example of the dubious role being played by the Petroleum Minister in repeatedly overruling the senior officers of the ministry to give huge favours to Reliance, he alleged.
“I would request that you may kindly call for the records of the Petroleum Ministry and satisfy yourself that the Petroleum Minister is blatantly violating ECI directions,” he said.
