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UF leaders clear way for petroleum products hike

The United Front leaders on Thursday gave the green signal to the I K Gujral government to go ahead with the long-pending decision on hiking prices of petroleum products when the Front's two policy making bodies authorised the cabinet to decide on the issue.

The cabinet is likely to meet in a day or two to finalise the quantum of the hike, taking into consideration the views expressed by the Front constituent leaders.

Even as the government dithered over the hike for the past six months due to differences among the UF constituents, the deficit in the oil pool account burgeoned to a whopping Rs 220 billion, crippling the domestic oil industry and its capacity to import crude.

The vexed problem was taken up by the Front's core committee as well as the steering committee during the course of the day on Thursday.

Briefing the media immediately after the steering committee meeting, which was chaired by Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet, UF spokesperson S Jaipal Reddy said the meeting gave the prime minister and the cabinet the final authority to take a decision.

''This issue will not come before the United Front steering committee again,'' Reddy said.

The Left parties have reiterated their opposition to the hike, saying that it would have a cascading effect on the prices of essential commodities which would affect the common man badly. They also argued that it would have an inflationary effect on the country's economy.

Sitaram Yechuri, a CPI-M leader, said that the Left parties had lodged their views while leaving the decision to the cabinet. ''We will see what the cabinet will decide,'' he added.

Earlier in the day, the core committee met at the residence of Prime Minister Gujral and is understood to have cleared an across-the-board hike in petroleum products, despite stiff opposition from Surjeet, who, incidentally, chaired the steering committee meeting, held subsequently.

Highly placed Front sources said it was decided to resort to effect a 'marginal hike' in the prices of petrol and kerosene, but liquefied petroleum gas and diesel are in for a substantial hike. However the hike will not cover the past deficit.

Both Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Petroleum Minister Janeshwar Mishra were present at the meeting.