Montek meets Sonia, PM

New Delhi, June 25 (UNI) Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today had unscheduled meetings twice with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and once with Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The subject of the meetings is not known nor Dr Ahluwalia offered any comments as to what transpired at the meetings.

The meetings, however, gave vent to rumours of every kind, but there was no official confirmation.

Dr Ahluwlia cancelled all his scheduled appointments, including one with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A major cause of worry of the present UPA government is spiralling prices and Dr Ahluwlia is known to be against taking recourse to harsh and drastic monetary measures.

The RBI yesterday, in a twin move, hiked repo rate by 50 bps and CRR by 50 points, which led to fears of across the board hike in interest rates as well as a slowdown of the economy.

Another crucial thorny issue is the Indo-US nuclear deal, which has left the government in the lurch with staunch opposition from the Left parties, the Opposition and even the allies of the government.

Some analysts say that it appears that the government is now moving in a decisive phase and concretising its startegy.

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