Finance Minister Pranab mukherjee today told the Lok Sabha said that he was forced to raise petroleum prices, and that there were no differences between the government and the Opposition on the issue of price rise.
The minister said local prices could not be low if the global prices had surged. "I was compelled to raise the petroleum product prices with global spurt in oil prices," Mukherjee defended.
The under-recoveries of the public oil companies in FY12 are estimated to be at Rs 1.22 lakh crore, he added.
Mukherjee said the MPs' observations would be taken into consideration on the issue of price rise.
About growth and investment, he said the government needed to create a climate conducive to investment in the country. "With serious mismatch between demand and supply, we need to moderate growth and inflation," Mukherjee added.
