Govt decides to cut petrol, diesel prices

New Delhi, Nov 28 (UNI) The government today decided to cut the retail prices of petrol and diesel in the wake of demands from the Left and opposition parties and on a suggestion from Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The decision was taken at a meeting Petroleum Minister Murli Deora had with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which was also attended by Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

The new retail prices of petrol and diesel will, however, be known only tomorrow when the decision is formally announced in Parliament official sources said.

Mr Deora's meeting with the Prime Minister this evening came hours after Ms Gandhi had hinted at a price cut in her address to her party MPs at the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting earlier in the day.

In the Lok Sabha, the Left parties joined hands with the opposition and staged a walkout, demanding an immediate cut in petrol and diesel prices. Members of the JD (U), Samajwadi Party and BJD also joined the walkout.

The Left and opposition parties have been demanding a rollback of the earlier hike in retail prices as the international crude prices have slumped by more than 10 dollars a barrel from the peak of over 75 dollars.

In her address to the CPP, Ms Gandhi said she had discussed with Dr Singh the possibility of ''decreasing'' the prices of some of the petroleum products in the light of international prices of crude coming down a few weeks ago.

''Dr Singh had assured me then that he would look into the mattter. I am sure this is under active examination,'' she said, amid applause by the party MPs.

Prime Minister Singh was also present at the meeting.

Ms Gandhi said the government had not passed on to the consumer, at the time of the last hike in the retail prices, the entire burden of the rise in the international prices of crude.

Nevertheless, the hike was causing hardship to the people.

''This had been and is a matter of concern to the party,'' she said.

UNI TEAM SN RP HT2047