A day after they turned down the government's offer of negotiations, protesting truckers were invited by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders for talks to bring an end to the strike which entered its eighth day on Monday.

All India Motor Transport Congress general secretary J M Saksena said that union president B N Dhumal had been invited by BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan to meet with party president Venkiah Naidu in New Delhi on Monday.

The transporters had earlier in the day said they were ready for talks and were awaiting the government's response.

"We got a fax from the government which said that it will talk only after we withdraw our strike. That is unacceptable to us as we do not trust the government. We are ready for talks, but the strike will go on till our demands are met," J M Saxena, secretary-general of the All India Motor Transport Congress told rediff.com.

Saxena, along with other leaders of the truck associations, is on a peaceful dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Wearing white suits and facemasks, the transporters are announcing their grievances through leaflets and colourful banners.

The government has showed its willingness to consider seven out of the ten demands of the truckers.

"We do not have the details, but on the main demand of the abolition of toll tax, the government is not even ready to talk. It says the issue of the diesel process and excise and cess will be referred to the petroleum and finance ministries. How can we be sure that those ministries will accept our demands?" Saxena asked.

Diesel prices were increased by Rs 4.50 per litre as international crude oil rates increased from $30 per barrel in December 2002 to $36 per barrel in March 2003. But by April the rates have fallen to $24 per barrel.

"Despite this the price of diesel has been reduced only by Rs 1.50. There is no sense of proportion here," said O P Agarwal, former president AIMTC.

On the issue of the abolishing toll tax, truckers complained that they end up paying toll tax, road tax, escort fee and entry tax all for the use of the same road.

"When we are paying road tax and cess on diesel for maintenance of roads, why should we pay toll tax as well? And even toll charges paid by each vehicle vary from Rs 1.60 per km to Rs 3.45 per km on different roads," Saxena said.

Further, the striking truckers argue that since they are just carriers of goods and neither sellers nor purchasers, they should be excluded from VAT by the states, as VAT is a state subject.

"The central government should ensure that the states endorse its view that transporters are not under VAT. At the moment we are under VAT -- in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh," said Agarwal.

Another issue irking the transporters is the proposed imposition of Rs 10,000 excise duty on un-built chassis. They argue that the government is doing so to modernize truck body-making only at the behest of some truck manufacturers, who want to fleece the transporters.

"Not only are these prices high, but it will also affect thousands of people involved in work of truck building at smaller scale," an AIMTC media release said.

Waiting for the Surface Transport Minister BC Khanduri to make the first move, the truckers said they are not going to relent till the government agrees for unconditional talks.

"Then it is going to be test of patience, let us see," says AIMTC president, Saxena.

And with every passing day of the strike concerns over shortage of essential supplies and not-s-essential supplies grows.

"We understand the difficulties faced by the public. So we have exempted the essential supplies like milk, LPG gas, et cetera till April 21," Saxena said.

The transporters are, however, yet to decide whether to further the exemption deadline for  essential commodities beyond April 21 if the strike prolongs.

Earlier, the All India Motor Transport Congress, which is heading the ongoing truckers' strike, had threatened to intensify the stir.

With no quick solution in sight to the nationwide strike, the matter is likely to figure prominently in Parliament as prices of essential commodities have soared 30-50 per cent, and many industries fear closure for want of raw materials.

Hopes of an early end to the strike, which entered the eighth day on Monday, appeared dim with transporters rejecting a fresh appeal by the government to end the stir on Sunday.

Meanwhile, AIMTC, with 2.7 million trucks in its fold, has, however, decided to keep supply of essentials like milk and cooking gas out of the purview of the strike till Thursday.

Though the government has offered to consider a majority of its demands, the AIMTC is not going to call off the strike till the Centre gives a written assurance.

Even as the strike entered its eighth day on Monday, the transporters' body sought a written assurance from the government stating all its demands would be met.

It claimed the ministry of road transport and highways had offered to consider a majority of its demands, including the key issue of keeping the transport sector out of the purview of the value-added tax regime and a repeal of the ban on old trucks.

"The government has agreed to repeal its orders junking 15-year-old trucks, rein in errant insurance companies and non-inclusion under VAT," Saksena said.

Prices spurt

The strike has resulted in a rise in the prices of fruit and vegetables across the country. In addition, some companies are warning of a shortage of supplies from next week.

According to estimates, fruit and vegetables prices went up 30-50 per cent in various parts the country in spite of the measures taken by the state governments to ensure a steady supply of essential commodities.

Reports from states like West Bengal, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh suggest that the prices of essential commodities were rising constantly amid fears among consumers that supply of commodities like cooking gas and milk may be hampered.

The Assam government has asked the Railways to provide additional rakes on freight trains to augment supply in view of the truckers' strike.

The edible oils and poultry sectors have also been affected.

Cargo piles up at Mumbai port

The truckers' strike has led to import cargo piling up at the Mumbai Port. However, the movement of export cargo has been only marginally affected with operations being largely unaffected at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

At present, there are about ten ships docked at the Mumbai Port.

"The loading and unloading operations are continuing on these ships. Export cargo movement within the Port Trust premises has not been affected. However, not much of fresh export cargo is coming into the port. On the other hand, there has been an accumulation of import cargo as no trucks are available for taking this cargo outside the port premises,"  Saroj Tahiliani, secretary, Mumbai Port Trust, said.

Movement of essential supplies to be hit hard

The nationwide truck strike will hit the supply of essential commodities from Monday as truckers plan to stop the movement of daily items like milk, pharmaceuticals and cooking gas.

The pharmaceutical industry has been affected the most. Traders had stopped picking up consignments a week before the present strike started as they were agitating against the valued-added tax.

The overlapping of the two strikes has come as a big blow to the industry. Though pharma companies are dispatching supplies by rail, they are not being unloaded at the freight terminals.

The construction industry is also facing a setback as the movement of raw materials has been affected.

Additional inputs: PTI, Agencies