Congress on Wednesday indicated that there will be no roll back in fuel prices and accused the opposition of resorting to 'political opportunism' on the issue.
"The Opposition should introspect before resorting to such political opportunism. They raised prices of petrol 21 times, that of diesel 24 times and that of liquefied petroleum gas five times when the National Democratic Alliance was in power," party spokesman Manish Tewari said.
He said the Opposition walkout during Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Budget speech was not only a contempt of Parliament but also a mockery of democracy as presentation of budget was the most important in a parliamentary calendar.
Justifying fuel price hike, he said concessions in excise duty were given in June 2008 when price of crude oil was $133 a barrel and now with the prices coming down, the government has partially gone back to the 1998 excise regime.
Tewari said the impact of the fuel price hike will lead to only 0.4 per cent rise in the wholesale price index and claimed the opposition had attacked the government without even analysing its implications.
The spokesman appealed to the opposition to adopt a 'constructive' approach towards 'such sensitive' issues related to the economy.
Asked whether the party was for a roll back of the fuel prices, Tewari said, "there is an economic reality articulated clearly by the finance minister in the Budget and outside in details.
"That lays the roadmap. . . I have nothing to add or subtract to that."
To a query about the pressure mounted by the allies like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Trinamool Congress for a rollback, Tewari quoted the finance minister saying that in a multi-party coalition, there is always a continuous flow of ideas and consultation which is happening.
"In a coalition, different political parties come from different realities and may have different opinion.
"Democracy lies in harmonising the differences and coming to an accepted solution," he said.
Tewari said that the issue will be discussed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. To a question whether Congress was for implementation of the Parikh Committee report on deregulation the petroleum products, he said the government will have to take a view on the issue first.
"Till the government takes a view, it will be inappropriate to comment on it," he added. Tewari, however parried a question on whether the petroleum ministry would raise the prices of petrol and diesel saying he has not talked to the minister concerned and was not aware about it.
"For the moment, it is what the budget contains," he said.
The spokesman expressed confidence that good Rabi crops, which will be harvested in April-May, will definitely have a moderating influence on food prices.
He blamed the poor monsoon for the rise in food prices saying had the monsoon been normal, Khareef crop could have played a greater role in moderating the prices.
