Editorial: The fuel price subterfuge

Fuel prices have largely remained unchanged for some time now, and everyone knows the reason. The ruling dispensation would not want to risk a rise in fuel prices if it would cost it in electoral terms. Only the naïve will believe that fuel prices are independent of elections.

The BJP, which is adept at and focused on winning elections, is cognisant of the fact that fuel prices are a highly sensitive political issue and, naturally, would not risk a price hike following volatility in global oil markets due to tensions in West Asia as it heads into Assembly election battles, especially in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.

There is a certain cynicism among the political class and the people in general, and BJP supporters in particular, that everybody can see through the subterfuge, but will not only acquiesce to it but will also vigorously counter the critics. Herein lies the BJP’s success over its rivals. It manages to insulate its electoral fortunes from people’s pain points arising out of everyday trials and tribulations that would otherwise sound the death knell of anti-incumbency.

Besides fighting elections ruthlessly with its well-oiled election machinery and its prime mover, the Prime Minister himself, which remains active throughout the year, the BJP owes its triumph and claim to relative invincibility to a host of factors, especially the Goebbelsian-level propaganda aimed at persuading and manipulating people’s thinking.

Now that elections are over, the state-owned oil firms have announced a steep increase in prices of commercial LPG, industrial diesel, 5-kg LPG and jet fuel sold to international airlines, and their cascading impact will indirectly affect common citizens. Government “sources” are now preparing the people for an imminent increase in prices of domestic LPG, petrol and diesel through soft-launch statements proffering a rationale for the impending rise.

For perspective, one needs to recall the BJP’s shrill campaign in the run-up to the 2014 general elections, when Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress-led UPA government on fuel prices (which were considerably lower than present levels) and promised to bring them down. It was an intrinsic part of the “achhe din” narrative, along with strengthening the rupee. On both counts, the party could not keep its promise and went on a propaganda blitzkrieg through its IT Cell and pro-government mainstream media, which made people acquiesce to it so much so that it ensured the party’s victory in the two subsequent general elections.

Beyond political rhetoric or duplicity, there is an economic and national interest rationale for the management of fuel prices. The high tax component can be justified on the grounds of funding national development, and frequent price rises can be attributed to global volatility, citing fiscal responsibility and even climate change considerations as reasons for not subsidising it.

It is true that state-owned fuel retailers were incurring losses running into hundreds of crores in recent times due to a surge in global oil prices. But, as opposition parties have often pointed out, whenever global fuel prices fell significantly, the government chose not to pass on the benefit to consumers. Instead, by increasing taxes, it pocketed the gains. The government will be let off the hook if people do not hold it accountable.