Opp flays hike in oil prices

In a statement, senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia said that the price hike had proved beyond doubt the Government8217;s incapability to manage the country8217;s economy. 8220;It is shocking that in its overzealousness to control the oil pool deficit, the Government has not spared even the most under-privileged sections of society by raising the prices of kerosene oil,8221; Scindia asserted.

He felt that the hike in LPG prices would hit the middle-class and lower strata of society while the while the raise in prices of diesel would affect farmers.

Tamil Maanila Congress TMC president G.K. Moopanar, in a statement in Chennai, said the hike only showed that the BJP-led coalition Government at the Centre was 8220;pursuing only those policies which were anti-people8221;. He asserted that the people would not tolerate any further deterioration of the economy because of the blind approach of the NDA Government.

AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha also sought immediate roll-back in prices of LPG, petrol, diesel and kerosene. She said over the past three years, it had become customary and an annual feature of the BJP Government at the Centre to hike prices in a haphazard manner. 8220;It is to be condemned that DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, whose party is a constituent of the NDA Government at the Centre, should justify such price hikes,8221; she said.