Asia Times: Truckers' strike tests Vajpayee coalition



	October 23, 1999	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Truckers' strike tests Vajpayee coalition
By Ranjit Dev Raj

NEW DELHI - A crippling, nation-wide strike by India's truckers, launched on Tuesday to protest against a steep increase in diesel prices, is the first major test of the viability of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's new coalition government.

The president of the All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), O P Aggarwal, has warned that most of the 2.8 million trucks in the country will continue to stay off the roads until the price increases are rolled back.

So far, the central government has adopted a tough stance against the strike, ordering state governments to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), which provides for arrests and prosecution, to ensure movement of goods. But many state governments, including those run by parties in the Vajpayee's National Democratic Alliance coalition, have difficulty complying with the order and some have already recorded opposition to the diesel price hikes.

Carriers moving water, milk and newspapers have been allowed to continue operating by the truckers union but Aggarwal said invoking the ESMA was ''unfortunate''.

The cash-strapped government is saddled with a $120 million annual bill which goes into subsidizing diesel, used not only in the trucking industry but also to run diesel pumps and tractors in rural areas. In Aggarwal's estimation it would be cheaper for the government to heed the truckers' demand because each day they are off the roads costs the country $2 billion.

Many fear that the 35 percent average increase in diesel prices will affect prices of all commodities and that the truckers' strike will aggravate the situation. Already, the partially-privatized Delhi Transport Corporation has responded to higher diesel prices by doubling passenger fares.

The government's justification for increasing diesel prices is that global prices of petroleum products, which form the bulk of India's imports, have gone up in recent months. But left-wing members of parliament point out that consumers have not benefited from earlier dips in global prices.

In a memorandum to Vajpayee, left-wing MPs said increased diesel prices would result in a three percent increase in the cost of living index and adversely affect agricultural and industrial production.

The price increases, announced in the middle of last month's elections, did not then evoke opposition from Vajpayee's main political opponent, the Congress party, which had hopes of coming to power.

Economists have long argued in favor of realistic prices for diesel, long cross-subsidised by petrol consumers. But successive governments have feared antagonizing the farming sector and diesel vehicle manufacturers, apart from the trucking industry. So attractive have diesel prices been that most passenger car manufacturers also offer popular diesel versions of their models, drawing protests from environmental groups.

While the central government has declared that there will be no roll-back in diesel prices, opinion seems to be building in favor of the truckers' unions and, according to Aggarwal, the opposition Congress party now supports them.

Allies in the ruling coalition who have voiced opposition to the price increases include Prakash Singh Badal, chief minister in the predominantly agricultural state of Punjab in northwestern India ruled by the Sikh Akali Dal party. Another is Mamta Bannerjee, leader of the Trinamul Congress and minister for the railways, a major user of diesel.

Soon after his election, Vajpayee warned of tough decisions ahead, giving rise to speculation that prices of other commodities besides diesel would be increased to help make up for huge fiscal deficits in the last budget. The new government is also planning to impose special taxes to make up for additional expenses incurred during a two-month undeclared border war with Pakistan in the Kargil area of Kashmir state earlier in the year.

(Inter Press Service)