Centre insensitive to sufferings of common man: Sushma

Chennai, Jun 25: Opposition BJP today (Jun 25) charged the Centre with being ''insensitive toward the sufferings of the common man'' and said all sections of society will be affected by fuel hike announced by the Congress-led UPA government.

"The Central government is insensitive toward the sufferings of the common man. This is the 10th hike in prices of petroleum products (in recent times)," Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj told reporters after calling on Chief Minister Jayalalithaa here.

While housewives were affected due to the Rs 50 hike in LPG price, farmers and poorest of the poor were affected due to increase in price of diesel and kerosene, she said.

Congress had come to power with the slogan of lending its hand to the common man, but "this is what they have given for the common man," she said.

On her meeting with Jayalalithaa, the first between the two leaders after the latter came to power in the state after the April 13 polls, Swaraj said it was a "courtesy call." The two leaders interacted for about half an hour.

Swaraj, who had raised in Parliament the issue of attacks on Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan navy, said they discussed the issue, in the backdrop of 23 fishermen from the state being arrested by Sri Lankan navy on June 20.

PTI