NARENDRA SINGH THEN v/s MANMOHAN MODI : BOTH SIDES OF SAME COIN

MAKE AMARTHYA SEN FINANCE MINISTER

SACK CHIDAMBARAM

Today the meeting of Oil Producing and Exporting Countries is taking place initiated by Saudi Arabia which was pressurized by G-8 and others to ponder over stabilizing the oil prices. The panacea Saudi Arabia offers is a hike of 6 percent of its oil production, hoping other countries will follow suit. We are of the opinion that this will not work. The rising prices of oil and petroleum products could not be arrested. Why do we opine so, let me record our views.

1. Saudi Arabia is not, as many may be thinking, the largest producer of oil. Russia stands first, and there is no hope that Russian President will play the Saudi Arabian tune of increasing oil production.

2. The worlds largest 20 oil fields were all discovered between 1917 and 1979 and the annual output from these oil fields is falling by 4 million barrels per day, says a Report of Earth Policy Institute. Taking into account country specific data details and projections, German based Energy Watch Group concludes that world oil production has peaked. It will also decline by 7 percent a year falling to 58 million barrels per day in 2020.

3. The year our former President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam predicted to be a turning point to make India a super power, 2020, will make India run from pillar to post begging for oil. The begging for oil is going to be the order of this century, and there has to be introspection.

4. Venezuela, the fifth largest producer of oil had declined to attend the Summit of OPEC called by Saudi Arabia. It opines cosmetic exercises like hike in production a little bit will not be a long term solution. The Socialist President of Venezuela, Mr. Hugo Chavez, who finds a place among leaders this century must emulate displayed in Dravida Peravai banners, feels the increase in production is not to ease oil prices and reduce the burden on common man, but to help speculation. He had earlier said in a BBC interview in 2006 that by 1990, the price of a barrel was just 20 US dollars. The oil producing countries must have a long term policy and fix the maximum profitable and reasonable price of 50 US dollars per barrel, and if the countries arrive at a consensus to sell oil at 50 US dollars per barrel for a long period, that alone will help the world, Mr. Hugo Chavez opines.

Dravida Peravai feels he is the voice of the conscience of the world. A nation that got Independence led by Mahatma Gandhi must back Venezuelan President in world forums but India also joins the chorus of greedy nations, sorry greedy companies that dictate their nation’s choices, in keeping oil prices in high. Our rulers are only for slight reduction in prices as eye wash. They are not even speaking loud for common good of the mankind.

The supply and demand of oil on an average remains 85 million barrels per day. Till 2003 USA was only holding 350 million barrels as buffer stocks. Now it had doubled to 750 million barrels, which also creates artificial scarcity resulting in hiking of prices. By 2006 when oil prices touched 60 US dollars per barrel, The Senate Committee of USA woke up and examined the ground reality and told the ‘stock piling of companies hoping to make a kill when prices go up’ is also one of the reasons of soaring oil prices.

M.R.Venkatesh, a Chennai based chartered accountant rightly pointed out in rediff.com, that OPEC is not determining the prices of oil, but 4 American finance companies. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, J.P.Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley are determining the rise in oil prices, this Indian scholar points out an accusing finger. American financial markets are investing in commodity trading, which they see is profitable than stock markets.

How this is being done? “After loosing money in the housing market, big hedge funds and investment banks are now pouring money into commodity markets, including oil, which are much less regulated than stock markets. They are not buying or hoarding actual oil, and hence do not have to incur the cost of storage. Instead they are buying oil futures with borrowed money at low rates of interest that is buying papers that entitle the holder to get oil after, say three months, at a price negotiated today. These papers are traded in commodity exchanges, just like company shares in stock markets” says Alok Ray, Professor of Economics at IIM Calcutta.

Indian Government headed by Mr.Manmohan Singh, with a Finance Minister like Mr.P.Chidambaram, with whom we cannot sympathize because he is a Tamilian, will never rule India with the interests of Indian common man in mind. They will be the spokespersons of the American companies, helping greedy men of the world to rob the mankind. Their advisers like Mr.Shankar Acharya, not the enemy of Jayalalitha, but a Member of the Board of Governors at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations say that “oil pricing had been seriously bungled by the Government in last few years. Government should raise fuel prices gradually and more frequently”. If a Government that keeps such advisers is run by anti-people vested interests shielding the western countries and their greedy companies, we have to be content with periodical oil price rises followed by cosmetic reductions in election eve to hoodwink the people.

INDIA MUST HAVE A NON-POLITICAL FINANCE MINISTER. This demand by a registered political party Dravida Peravai may surprise the readers. We in our party manifesto registered with Election Commission of India, have advocated party-less democracy as panacea to Indian political party dominated political scenario. Hence it falls in our moral duty to suggest that Nobel Laureate Amarthya Sen should be made India’s Finance Minister.

The Union Government must have convened the National Integration Council or convened the Chief Ministers Conference to discuss the Value added Tax on petrol and diesel. Gujarat imposes 29.13 percent VAT on diesel and 29.88 percent VAT on petrol. The Left ruled West Bengal imposes 20.62 percent VAT on diesel and 27.66 percent on petrol. West Bengal also levies 4 percent tax each on kerosene and cooking gas. In Andhra Pradesh ruled by Congress 33 percent VAT on diesel is the order of the day. Punjab imposes 30 percent VAT on petrol. IS IT NOT THE DUTY OF THE UNION GOVERNMENT TO DISCUSS WITH STATES TO BRING UNIFORM REDUCTION IN VAT AND TO REDUCE OIL PRICES DRASTICALLY AFTER ALL THE PEOPLE ARE THE ULTIMATE MASTERS IN A DEMOCRACY.

[Press Release of 22^nd June 2008, a part of which will be telecasted by a local channel Rainbow channel]

N.Nandhivarman, General Secretary Dravida Peravai

Where does wealth go ? Who benefits under UPA governments policies?

Where does wealth go ? Who benefits under UPA governments policies?

There are 1,20,000 high net worth individuals who have investible assets of $ 1 million dollar and more and these 0.1% of India’s population owns one third of India’s Gross National Income. According to Asia-Pacific Wealth Report of 2009 the combined net worth of 84000 high net worth individuals is $310 million dollars. So 1 percent of our populations grows richer day by day and UPA is benefitting only them.

How long it will take for us, the other 99 percent of India’s population to reach the level attained by 1 percent of the population. ?

A Indian from rural areas will have to wait for 3814 years to reach that stage. An average urban Indian will take 2238 years to become rich like the 1 percent rich of our society.

Do you say UPA is not taxing the rich ?

I am not saying. Auditor Gurmurthy in Open-Editorial in The Hindu recently accuses “ UPA has altogether stopped taxing corporate and others who are tax worthy. According to Economic Survey 2010-2011 the ratio of excise revenue to GDP has come down from 3 percent in 2005-2006 to 1.7 percent in 2010-2011 and customs from 1.8 percent to 1.5 percent. On the basis of excise-customs to GDP ratio of 2005-2006 the government had under-levied excise by 1,00,000 crore and customs by 43,000 crore in 2010-2011. Yes 1.43,000 crore loss to government coffers. If government losses who benefits, even a child will point the finger at corporate .

The under levy of excise started in 2006-2007 at 13,000 crore and by 2008-2009 rose to 63,000 crore. By 2010-2011 it reached 81,000 crore. It means the Government refused to levy the legitimate tax. Common man can bear tax burden and nor corporate our Finance Minister Pranab Brokerjee thinks. Sorry if he continues to behave like a broker to corporate common man will only curse him by slightly modifying his name.

The companies posted a profit before tax of 4.08 lakh crore in 2005-2006. In 2007-2008 the profit stood at 7.11 lakh crore and in 2008-2009 at 6.68 lakh crore. Super profits in 2009-2010 is 8.24 lakh crore. So it is clear that our people have to bear more and more tax burdens by hikes in petrol diesel prices whereas companies in the field grow richer and richer.

You spoke in 2011 beginning itself in Karaikal that the biggest scam is not 2G but KG , now CAG [ Comptroller and Auditor General] report seems to vindicate you ?

Recent scams started with 80,000 crore revenue loss caused by Reddy brothers, in mining scam of Karnataka. Then came 2 G scam where CAG quantified to 1.76 lakh crore. Rs 214 crore beneficiaries are in prison. Totally 30,000 crore is only in CBI chargesheet against the so far accused. Balance 1,46,000 crore loot and those who looted definitely must be in UPA waiting for getting exposed. After Tamilnadu’s 2 G scam, mining scam of 3,00,000 lakh crore rocked the Orissa Assembly. In that series next came the center page article Corporate Socialism’s 2 G orgy in The Hindu dated March 7 of 2011. Mr.P.Sainath quoting government statistics said “ Government had forgone from 2005-2006 to 2010-2011 corporate income tax, excise and customs duty, to the extent of Rs 21, 25,023 crores. Yes 21 lakh crores government helped corporate sector . Half a trillion dollars nation lost in revenue. 12 times BIGGER than 2 G scam, Sainath wrote. This is not DMK scam, it is Congress scam.

Global Financial Integrity , a watch dog organization brought out a report on illegal financial flows from India to tax havens. The figure they quote is 21 lakh crore since 1948 to 2011 is black money slashed abroad. Everyday 240 crores is written off in corporate income tax in India under UPA. This money becomes black money creating black economy. So in these scams KG scam had yet to be quantified. 

CAG on KG….

The Hindu dated June 16 th of 2011 in its editorial All is not well with gas and oil writes “ To the list of acronyms and alphabets -2G,CWG,ISRO- that have given the UPA government such an un-savoury image in recent times must now be added another KG.According to draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on hydrocarbon production sharing contracts the public exchequer has suffered an as yet unquantifiable loss thanks to the undue benefit provided by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to Reliance Industries Ltd, the operator of gas-rich Krishna Godavari basin fields…… The Ministry as per report allowed the company to expand 1600 square kilo meters the contract area. Is it sea grabbing like land grabbing? That is why I wrote few weeks ago in Makkal Manasatchi, a Tamil investigative weekly that Malladi’s Real Estate Business in Bay of Bengal.

To continue…

MALAYSIA and PAKISTAN REDUCE but INDIA INCREASES: NAKED FACTS

India is 12th in the rank of gas producing countries. The Total gas reserves in KG basin is estimated at 35.5 trillion cubic feet.

Feb 1999: A consortium led by Reliance Industries (RIL) wins an exploration block in the KGD6 basin, in a global auction. March 2000: Contractor renamed Global Fuel Management Services, and then Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL). April 2000: RIL and the government execute production sharing

September 2003-May 2004: RIL submits bids for supply of gas to NTPC.

April 2004: Production sharing contract executed.

June 2004: RIL signs pact with Uttar Pradesh for world’s largest gas-based power plant at Dadri.

June-July 2004: NTPC issues letter of intent to RIL.

THE RIL is having all its offices and infrastructure in YENAM. Why Pondicherry Government had failed to obtain its share in the gas and why it failed to set up a power plant through NTPC and pass the power by national grid to Pondicherry, is a question without answer.

The Radia tapes which appeared in Open magazine records for getting permission and for getting gas RIL had spent 1000 crores. In the Supreme Court 3 Judge panel headed by then Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan, Justice P.Sathasivam, and Justice B.Sudharsan Reddy have stated “ Government is the owner of natural resources including gas available in the country, no individual or commercial entity could claim right over such resources”

The royalty under Production sharing contract is US $ 4.20 per million british thermal unit mmBtu. In KG basin D6 block for five years. IF THIS royalty had been fixed in comparison with other countries, that revenue could have reduced the burden on consumers.

The Basic Price for Petrol : 28.93

Excise duty : 14.35

Education Tax : 0.43

Dealer Commission : 1.05

VAT : 5.5

Crude Oil custom duty : 1.54

Transportation : 6.00 THUS PER LITRE PRICE comes to 58.90 petrol

In 2008 Malaysia sold petrol per litre for Rs 30.12 but in 2010 they have reduced to 20.99

In 2008 Pakisthan prices were 36.09 per litre brought down to Rs 31.43 in 2010.

Those Governments have political will. Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee turns blind eye in fixing royalties for Natural Gas, Iron Ore and Minerals, and 2G spectrum licenses, where he favours the corporate democracy, instead taxes the consumers who suffer in a non existent peoples democracy.

Further the when every time the prices of petrol is hiked almost all political parties do protest, but they fail to note that Indian consumer is robbed every time petrol price gets hiked, over and above the hiked price.

This time Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited had hiked the price of petrol by Rs 2.96 per litre. Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation etc are going to follow this.

Can anyone buy one litre and pay Rs.2.96 ? Is there 5 paise one nayapaise coins in circulation. Even 10 paise coin is out of circulation. So naturally consumer had to pay Rs 3.00 instead of hiked Rs 2.96. Where does the balance 4 paise goes ? If you calculate the litres sold in a day throughout the country and multiply it with 4 paise you will get a figure to compete with 2G losses.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukerjee nor the Petroleum Minister Murle Deora have ever thought about this loot. The Corporations too are happy as if they are reducing 4 paise burden from the consumers shoulders..

Dravida Peravai demand CAG audit into the losses incurred by Indian consumers. RTI activists must question these Corporations.