Fossil fuel subsidy cut backlash in India

Will India’s coalition government be the next victim of political backlash against fossil fuel subsidy reform? Last Friday, squeezed by rising oil prices and growing fiscal strain, the Government reduced subsidies on diesel, and prices jumped 14%. The Chief Minister of West Bengal and leader of junior coalition partner in the Congress-led Government has threatened to walk out of the coalition, while more radical voices on both left and right have backed demonstrations and strikes. India’s unrest adds to riots this year in Nigeria, Indonesia and Sudan over subsidy reform.