Roll back fuel price hike, control prices of essential commodities:-A test article

New Delhi (PTI) The Left parties in a joint statement on Sunday demanded the rollback of hike in petroleum products and urged the government to control prices of essential commodities and drugs.
The joint statement has been signed by Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist); D Raja, General Secretary, Communist Party of India; Debabrata Biswas, General Secretary, All India Forward Bloc; Manoj Bhattacharya, General Secretary, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)Liberation.

Alleging that the government, instead of helping people to combat the ravages of the Covid health catastrophe, hiked the prices of petroleum products by at least 21 times after the announcement of results of the recent assembly elections on May 2, the parties said that this is leading to a 'cascading inflationary spiral with the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rising to an 11-year high.' 'The prices of food articles have risen by nearly 5 per cent in April. Primary commodities saw a rise of 10.16 per cent and manufactured products have risen by 9.01 per cent. By the time these commodities reach the retail markets, the consumers are charged much more.