UPA-Left meet skips fuel price rise issue

New Delhi, June 15: The Left parties today asked the government to take immediate steps to contain price rise, growing terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East, and the communal situation in the country as the UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting skipped the controversial fuel price hike issue.

''Today's meeting revolved around mainly political issues but we could not get concrete answers from the government,'' CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told UNI after the two-hour meeting held at the 7, Race Course Road residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The fuel price rise issue was not discussed at the eleventh meeting of the UPA-Left Coordination Committee as Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora could not make it to the deliberations.

Deviating from norms, no Left leaders were present when the media was briefed about the outcome of the meeting attended by the Prime Minister, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Mr Karat, CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan and CPI (M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury.

''The meeting was very satisfactory,'' said Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Prithviraj Chavan, who declined comment on the nine-page note submitted by the Left parties to the government yesterday.

Mr Chavan said the meeting discussed the present state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir and the ongoing dialogue initiated by the government, the communal situation in the country, the scenario in the North-East and regarding price rise and steps being taken by the government.

The next UPA-Left Coordination Committee meeting will be held in July.

UNI

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