BJP to raise price hike issue in Parliament

New Delhi, Nov 28: The BJP today said it would raise the issues of hike in prices of essential commodities, misuse of Special Economic Zones and the ''discrepancy'' in the international and domestic prices of petroleum in Parliament.

A meeting of the BJP's Parliamentary party, presided over by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, flayed the UPA government for failing to check the prices of essential commodities while denying a fair price to farmers who were committing sucides. ''Only foreign suppliers were a happy lot,'' Parliamentary Party Spokesperson V K Malhotra said.

Mr Malhotra said the government was ''fleecing the public by keeping petroleum prices artificially high at 78 dollars a barrel while the prices in the international markets hovered around 58 dollars''.

The BJP has been maintaining that the government can reduce the price of petrol by Rs four per litre and diesel by Rs three per litre.

He said the BJP had given an adjournment notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and would insist on a detailed discussion on the issue of the failure of the government in handling the internal security and the terror scenario in the country. ''If the Opposition is not given an opportunity, the MPs would not allow the normal functioning of the House,'' he added.

UNI

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