Struggling to come to terms with the deterioration in the political atmosphere in the country after the events in Gujarat and the proposed bhumi pujan in Ayodhya on March 15, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has decided to refer the issue of rollback in the prices of kerosene sold through public distribution system (PDS) and domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the Cabinet before taking a view on it.
The matter was left to Vajpayee after members of Parliament and ministers began exerting pressure for a rollback, citing deep political damage on account of the hike in kerosene and LPG prices. A Cabinet meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, might be postponed because of Shivaratri and could consider the rollback issue on Wednesday.
Mired as he is in political challenges from all around, the Prime Minister will consult his Cabinet colleagues before taking a decision on the rollback. He is under pressure from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the ruling alliance