New Delhi/Kolkata: In a climbdown, UPA’s key constituent Trinamool Congress on Tuesday accepted the recent controversial petrol price hike but threatened to pull out of government if there was another such increase.
The party, which has 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha, got no assurance on rollback of the hike of Rs 1.80 when its delegation of MPs met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi to register their unhappiness.
After the 45-minute meeting, the MPs made it clear that the party would continue to be part of the government as of now despite being strongly opposed to the latest price hike.
“We expressed our sentiments to the Prime Minister and gave him a copy of the resolution adopted at the Parliamentary Party meeting held in Kolkata,” said Union Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandhopadhyay after the 45-minute meeting with Singh.
Citing media reports which suggested that there could be hike in prices of LPG, diesel and kerosene this month, the delegation told the Prime Minister that Trinamool was opposed to any such move but Singh said he was not aware of any such thing.
“We categorically said if such a decision is taken again, we have to think again whether what will be our stand and we will not take this very easily… We have succeeded in convincing the people that Trinamool Congress will not digest easily whenever decision of price rise is taken,” Bandhopadhyay told reporters.
Asked whether Singh gave any assurance on rollback of the latest petrol price hike, he replied in the negative. Party chief Mamata Banerjee, who held a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Kolkata, said her party will not remain in the UPA government if prices of petro products hiked again.””We don’t want to blackmail the UPA government. We don’t want to come out if it takes a correct decision,” she said. (PTI)