Congress Core Group : Roll back of fuel price

Congress Core Group wants rollback of fuel price hike,the policy makers Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said he took a risk of facing inflation in raising excise duty across the board for mobilising resources, but expressed confidence that the impact would be absorbed.When asked on roll back he said: "No, where is the question of rollback. If there was question of rollback,I would not have put it.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday ruled out any roll back in petrol and diesel prices, saying the economy has the capacity to absorb the increase without triggering inflationary pressure."Any increase in prices does hurt some people, but we have to take a long-term view," he told reporters accompanying him on his way back home from Saudi Arabia.Singh made it clear following populist fiscal policies for long harm the economy."We cannot save people from inflation if we follow all populist fiscal policies. Sooner or later these populist policies if persisted for a long time to come will lead to the erosion of the investment climate," he said.

Meeting of the Congress Core Group on Tuesday in New Delhi assumes significance as it came in the back drop of hike in the fuel prices.Some of the UPA allies, Trinamool Congress and DMK and the Left parties and BJP had urged the government to roll back the hike.

Core Group meeting attended senior leaders along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party chief Sonia Gandhi, her political secretary Ahmed Patel, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Meet discussed in detail the petrol and diesel price hike and if there should be a partial rollback. The Core Group weighed all possibilities and even political fallout of the hike. According to sources, the Government and the party leadership were of the view that 2010 was the only year when UPA could take difficult decisions.A senior Congress leader said, “This is the only year when there are no elections. Only one State — Bihar — has Assembly polls. Next year West Bengal and Tamil Naidu States go for elections. It would be difficult to take many harsh decisions then. So we had to bite the bullet. The timing is the most important part.” The Congress is taking solace from the fact that even the allies have toned down the rhetoric on Tuesday.

Congress president will hold a meeting of the Congress parliamentary party on Wednesday morning. where in the CPP meeting Mukherjee will brief all Congress MPs about delicacies of the Budget.Congress and the government today breathed easy even as opposition parties appeared determined to corner the government in Parliament for a roll back.

Top Congress leadership including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi tonight grappled with the ticklish issue amid indications that the government has kept all its options open.

The refrain in Congress was that it was running a coalition, a point being interpreted as ruling party's readiness to accommodate the concerns especially of the allies.
Earlier in the day both Trinamool Congress and DMK said they were not pulling out of the government and creating any problems for it but were only reflecting the concerns of the common man on the issue of price rise. reports PTI

Congress is aware of the fact that the Opposition, Left and even former allies like BSP and Samajwadi party to go all out in Parliament against the UPA Government's decision to hike petrol and diesel prices thus diluting their public image.There is tacit plan to put forth the reasons for the hike in fuel price to balance act of the recession mixed with deficit finanncing with global economy still at its mode of downswing thus the roll back done could damage the economy plan and if not the congress to dilute its populous image of Aam Adami Party such a good defence by briefing its MPs is on the cards.

“The Finance Minister will brief the MPs about the hike and other details of Budget so that Congress members are well-equipped to defend the Government, which would surely be under attack from Opposition. The Finance Minister will explain all details about the cascading effect of diesel price hike,” a senior leader said.Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh had yesterday ruled out the roll back. BJP condemned the Prime minister's statement that fuel price hike will not be rolled back.

BJP today condemned the Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh's statement that fuel price hike will not be rolled back.BJP and other opposition parties may strike hard today both in floor of the houses and streets.

BJP the party spokesman Mr Prakash Javadekar said that it shows that Prime Minister is oblivious to the pains and suffering of people who are all ready reeling under inflationary pressure. He said that UPA partners like TMC nd DMK have also protested the hike and demanded a rollback.Mr Javadekar said that the party will intensify its agitation till the government takes credible action to tame the inflation.

In HYDERABAD: Opposition party leaders discarded the day with their bullet-proof vehicles, including N Chandrababu Naidu, took to streets in bullock carts demanding roll back of fuel prices which were hiked in the recent budget.MLAs and MLCs of TDP, CPM and CPI and former city mayor T Krishna Reddy accompanied by party activists paid tributes at the NTR Ghat before marching to the assembly on bicycles and bullock carts.

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