Petrol Hike: Battered Centre to roll back prices soon?

New Delhi, Nov 5: After the furore caused by yet another petrol price hike, the government seem to be rethinking its decision of mounting more agony for the aam aadmi by doing so. Sources have revealed that the government will soon step in to rein in the petrol price hike.

With the Opposition and some UPA allies lambasting the Centre's decision to hike prices, they have been at the receiving end of brickbats. The person who have had to suffer maximum undoubtedly is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The PM returned to India on Saturday after attending the crucial two-day G-20 summit in Cannes.

It has been reported that the PM, soon after his return will meet Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi to discuss the issue. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is also expected to meet the PM in the wake of the petrol hike storm as well as West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's obvious irk at the price rise. The discussion will also entail ways by which she can be calmed after she openly stated her anger at the hike and threatened to pull out of the UPA. She had said, "Roll back or we will walk."

The PM is likely to meet Mamata in the wake of the anger over the price rise debate.

Earlier, Pranab Mukherjee had washed off his hands of being responsible for the price rise stating that it was the state-owned oil companies decision to hike rates. The 5th hike in a year, petrol prices were hiked by Rs 1.80 per litre.

OneIndia News