Hike in diesel prices unfortunate: Bhattal

Phagwara, Sept 17: Former

Chief Minister and

leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal on Sept 16 said the hike in prices of diesel were unfortunate and should be reviewed.

Talking to reporters here, she maintained that though additional financial resources were required for a healthy economy, alternative measures should be found and price hike be avoided.

Congress-led UPA government had hiked the price of diesel by Rs 5 per litre and put a cap on subsidised LPG at 6 cylinders per family in a year. On FDI in retail, Bhattal said though the move was required for development, yet all steps should be taken for safeguarding interests of native traders and industrialists.

On Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh's move to convene a meeting of all the opposition parties at the behest of Sanjha Morcha chairman Manpreet Singh Badal, Bhattal, also a former PPCC President, demanded that Captain should first convene the meeting of state party executive before taking any decision on policy matters.

"I am not against co-operation with secular parties. Rather, I have myself been getting this co-operation when I was at the helm of affairs. But a sea change in state political scenario would have happened had Captain (Amarinder) heeded my advice of such a co-operation with secular parties before assembly elections," she said.

"Why was Amarinder subjecting a big party like Congress, having 46 MLAs, to continued humiliation by cringing for support from small parties who did not have even a single MLA?" she asked.

"When these parties showed the audacity of turning down his request for joining Congress dharnas on Sept 7, Captain offered to himself join their proposed dharnas of Sept 21 and this offer was again spurned by Sanjha Morcha," she accused.

Now, on Badal's suggestion, Singh has agreed to convene meeting of opposition parties, "Is Manpreet calling the shots for PPCC?" Bhattal asked. She said the PPCC executive had senior leaders from the Centre also and who must be consulted before Singh took any policy decision.

PTI