Mizoram Commercial Vehicle Owners Plan Strike in Response to Fuel Price Increase

AIZAWL: Mizoram commercial vehicle owners to go on indefinite strike from October 23 for reduced fuel prices

Petrol prices rose from Rs 93.93 per liter on September 1 to Rs 99.24 a liter, and the diesel rates shot up from Rs 82.62 to Rs 88.02 a liter.

Heeding the call, 11 associations of commercial vehicle owners have called for this strike. The Mizoram cabinet had decided on October 17 to not roll back the price hike in fuel. Commercial vehicle owners were supposed to begin a dharna or sit-down protest from October 14 onwards. But they later revoked their decision, owing to an appeal by Chief Minister Lalduhoma to wait patiently for the Mizoram cabinet meeting scheduled on October 16.

In a statement, the Mizoram Commercial Vehicle Union said during a meeting on Saturday that it resolved to keep all its commercial vehicles off the roads for an indefinite period from October 23.

The decision was taken after the state cabinet had refused to cut petrol and diesel prices after the Chief Minister had promised to do so to the MCVU and civil society organizations.

According to MCVU, the union leaders met Chief Minister Lalduhoma on 11th October and were asked to wait for the cabinet that he called on Oct 12.

The union had agreed to postpone its strike slated for October 14 after NGOs from the Coordination Committee, a representative body of civil society and student organizations, requested them. The chief minister had told the committee that the government was considering reducing fuel prices and that the instruction to hike fuel prices would be put on hold until the cabinet met.

From the government side, the increased tax on VAT was also through an increase in its rate: they increased VAT on petrol from 5.23% to 10% and that on diesel from 16.36% to 18%. Aside from this VAT increase, the government also brought a new tax of Rs 2 per liter on both diesel and petrol for social infrastructure and services, along with another Rs 2 a liter for road maintenance.

The MCVU claimed that the fuel price escalation has affected not just commercial vehicles but also the entire citizenry, for which they are demanding a decrease of Re 1 per liter on both petrol and diesel.

On 17th October, Chief Minister Lalduhoma said that his government decided not to bring down the prices of petrol and diesel that had been raised on 1st September as his cabinet confirmed. According to him, the increase in prices was necessary to develop social infrastructures and maintain roads and highways for which the people stand to gain.

The chief minister added that at current prices of VAT, fuel, and cess three other northeastern states, Sikkim and Nagaland-are still at higher rates than Mizoram.

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