Tripura CPI-M demands to roll back decision on Assam oil field

Agartala: The CPI-M in Tripura on Wednesday demanded to roll back the decision to auction 12 small oil fields of Assam as the party believes it is the stepping stone to privatisation.
Denouncing the decision announced jointly by Union Minister for Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal recently to ‘auction’ 12 oil fields, CPI-M Tripura state Secretary Bijan Dhar said the BJP led NDA government was leading the country to disaster by deciding to hand over precious natural resources to ‘profit-obsessed’ private companies.
“The people of the concerned state and the entire country have a right to the natural resources of the country but the BJP government in Assam and Centre are handing them on a platter to avaricious companies and corporations; this must be stopped at any cost, as these are worth Rs 12,000 crore,” said Dhar.
He, however, pointed out that in previous occasions natural resources of North-eastern region were untouched considering the importance of bio-diversity resources.
“We stand with the demand to roll back the decision of the government and want all those oil fields to function as usual without disturbing its existing set up,” Dhar said, adding the left parties would not allow entry of any private player to do business with natural resources.
Referring to the discussion on CPI-M central committee held last week, he said that just-concluded assembly polls in five states was discussed and admitted that the CPI (M) had not performed well in them.
Regarding West Bengal, he said the state party unit had not acted in consonance with the earlier decision made by the central committee on the question of tactics and maintained,
“We hope that from now on the state party unit will try to stand on its own by organising themselves properly in accordance with the party’s central line and resolutions of the 21st party Congress and the five-day plenum held in the last week of December last year.” (UNI)