BJP fears hike in fuel prices

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday made a number of charges against the United Progressive Alliance government: it was getting ready to increase the prices of petroleum products once again; it was not interested in stopping the lottery business; and it was planning to cut the quota for small investors in the capital market instead of getting to the bottom of the demat account scandal.

In the 20 months of UPA rule, petroleum product prices had been revised upwards six times leading to a 35 per cent increase, party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said while expressing fears that it was getting ready for another hike. Rubbishing the UPA excuse that the hike was necessitated by the high international price of crude, he pointed out that 65 per cent of the price in India was on account of taxes and there was room to play with that to keep the prices down to a reasonable level for consumers.

He said every increase in the prices of petroleum products leads to all round inflation, especially affecting the prices of essential food items such as foodgrains, vegetables and fruit.

The Hindu