Opposition slams govt. over petrol price hike

Cutting across party lines, lawmakers slammed the central government on Saturday over the sudden hike in prices of petrol, and accused the Congress party of increasing the burden of the common man. Blaming the Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for the petrol price hike, Communist Party of India senior leader D. Raja, predicted prices of diesel and other petroleum products would also follow suit. Bharatiya Janata Party also sharply criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, calling them insensitive to the poor.