Now, a confrontation on petro prices

After all the turmoil in Parliament, whose monsoon session closes tomorrow, more is being promised by prominent political groupings in the days to come, on the streets. The issue now is the widely reported government intention to raise the prices of petroleum products such as diesel and cooking gas once the Parliament session is over.

Naresh Agrawal, Samajwadi Party senior, said: “Any hike in fuel prices will lead to further inflation. Farmer suicides are occurring and a hike is unthinkable..we are (only) rendering issue-based support to the UPA (government).”

Mukul Roy, cabinet minister, said of his party, the Trinamool Congress: "We from the TMC have always opposed and will continue to oppose any hike in petrol and diesel prices, as we consider it to be anti-people."

The TMC despite being a coalition partner of the UPA has been a vociferous critic of its economic policies. It has always opposed petrol, diesel price hike and LPG price hike and has charged the UPA with faulty pricing mechanism: not adjusting its petrol prices with prices of international crude.

And, these two support the government. Opposition parties promise more.

“At this point, a price hike is not politically advisable,” said a Congress party source.