UPA gift: After petrol; diesel, LPG price hike soon

New Delhi, May 24: With the common man still reeling from the shock of the steep hike in

prices, there seems to be more bad news on the way. According to sources, the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) will meet on Friday to deliberate on the possibility of a hike in

and LPG prices too. The aam aadmi is slamming this move by the government calling it the worse gift by the

on the occasion of the third anniversary of the UPA in power.

The oil companies are reportedly pushing for Rs 5 hike in diesel prices. The hike in petrol prices were effective from May 23rd midnight and now stands at more than Rs 7.50 across the country. In Delhi, petrol is now priced at Rs 73.14, while Hyderabad will see a steep hike of Rs 81.44. IT city - Bangalore will see petrol price at Rs 82 after the hike.

The price hike has led to Opposition stepping up pressure on the already beleaguered UPA and demanding a rollback. Prominent among the voices are Gujarat CM Narendra Modi who tweeted, “Massive hike in petrol prices is a prime example of the failure of Congress-led UPA. This will put a burden of hundreds of crores on Guj.”

The decision led to protests in many parts of the country. The Left parties plan to hold a protest demonstration in Delhi. CPI leader D Raja has been quoted saying, "All parties should plunge to protest. It's just a prelude. They will hike the price of diesel as well."

It is not just the Opposition that has pointed fingers at the UPA, but the allies too that have lambasted the UPA on its decision. The voice of protest of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was most prominent, who said, “We have made a commitment to support this government, that is the reason we are not moving out. But our support does not mean that we cannot protest. We believe that the government is being unjust, it's one sided and not correct.”

With various political parties taking leverage of the petrol price hike, the most affected by the decision was the common man who made a beeline to petrol pumps before the hike became effective.

OneIndia News