Slamming the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the hike of petrol and diesel prices was a "criminal conspiracy" to extend benefit to big oil companies at the cost of common people.
In a statement issued here, Badal claimed the Centre was well aware of the fact that it would be thrown out of power in the coming Lok Sabha elections and was extending largesse to oil companies at the fag end of its term.
The hike in petrol and diesel prices would further propel inflation and accentuate woes of common man, he said.
This increase has "exposed the anti-poor face of the UPA government", Badal said, terming the hike as "totally unjustified and anti-people" and done at a time when the country's economy was in doldrums.
The Chief Minister said this decision would be a fatal blow to the agriculture sector as farming was no longer a profitable venture due to massive hike in agricultural input costs, and added that non-remunerative MSP would further jeopardise the country's food security.
