Oil boils, govt under fire

Left demands rollback, asks govt to desist from 'unilateral' decisions.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government today came under sharp attack from the entire political spectrum, including its allies, on the issue of the sharp increase in petroleum product prices.

While the Left demanded an immediate rollback, the Samajwadi Party said the Congress was taking its support for granted. The BJP, too, joined the chorus with party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi dubbing it an inflation-filled Diwali gift to the people.

The tone was set by the Left. CPI leader D Raja spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over telephone this morning and urged the government to reconsider the decision. He asked the government to heed their "reasonable advice" and desist from taking "unilateral" decisions.

Both the CPI and CPM, in separate statements, asked their state units to launch protests. They demanded that public and private sector oil companies, which are making massive post-tax profits, should share the burden of surging international crude oil prices.

The Congress, however, termed the decision as a painful one which had to be taken. While Finance Minister P Chidambaram parried the demand for a rollback, he admitted that the decision to raise prices was "difficult". Speaking at a public function here, he even warned that if moderate after winter, "we may have to live with high (oil) prices".

Pointing out that no government wanted to take a decision that made it unpopular, a Congress party spokesman said rising international prices impacted both the developing and developed nations and India could not be insulated from international developments.

This, however, did not cut much ice with the allies and the Opposition. On its part, the Samjawadi Party said it was disappointed over not being consulted on the issue.

"If we are not even consulted on such a vital issue, which hits the poor of this country the hardest, then it looks like we are being forced to lend support to this alliance," party general secretary Amar Singh told reporters.

Singh hoped that the Left parties would be more assertive in opposing this hike as it concerned the poor.

Meanwhile, the BJP said the ruling coalition, which had claimed to be with the common man, was turning out to be the one that "increasingly burdens the common man".

"The way the prices have been raised is shameful," he said, adding such a trend was being witnessed ever since the Congress-led coalition came to power in May.

The issue will be discussed at the party's upcoming national executive meeting on November 24.