To revert to revised telecom rates. To begin with, urban subscribes in large cities would be required to pay Rs. 250/- a month as rental or Rs. 500/- per billing cycle against Rs. 380/- at present for the year 1999-2000. From April 1, 2000, the monthly would go up to Rs. 280/- or Rs. 560/- per billing cycle and Rs. 310/- a month or Rs. 620/- per billing cycle from April 2001. The number of free calls is also down to 60 per month or 120 per billing cycle from 150 at present. The call rates have also been notified on a new slab basis. For urban subscribers the first 500 calls would be charged Re 1/- per call and Rs. 1.20 per call after that. For rural centres the monthly rental has been jacked up from Rs. 50/- to Rs. 70/-. The monthly free calls for rural users have remained unchanged at 75. For the rural users local calls upto 500 will be charged at 80- paise per call. Thereafter it is Rs. 1.20 for every additional call. So at one go the BJP government has made arrangement for fleecing the telephone users for three consecutive years. Side by side, to give stops to the industrialists, traders and private telephone operators, the STD and ISD call rates have been reduced substantially. The tariff of domestic long distance calls would decrease by about 45% over a period of three years and in case of international calls by 50%. Who of the telephone subscribers make most of the STD and ISD calls? Obviously, the common users of telephone very seldom use the facility. Thus the beneficiaries are industrialists or men with higher income bracket. The upshot of the whole TRAI exercise has put as much burden as possible on the common users of the telephones. The middle class too is being pilloried in as many ways the BJP may think as desirable. They are to fill the revenue kitty of the centre and the minuscule fraction of the society - the industrialists - are a pampered lot in the BJP dispensation.

The CPI(M) politburo has strongly opposed the TRAI proposal to increase telephone rentals and call rates. In the urban centres telephone subscribers during the next three years would have to pay between 60% and 72% higher rental per month during the next three years. In the case of rural subscribers the hike is much higher - 140%. Simultaneously charge per call has also been jacked up.