Click to play videoNew Delhi: The differences in opinions within the Congress regarding the oil price hike are becoming increasingly obvious.
Only a few days ago, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had assured oil companies that their fuel price hike concerns would be addressed.
But at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting convened on Friday, the party made its mind clear to the government. It emphasised the need to balance the concerns of fuel companies with the interests of the common man, especially as the elections are just a year away.
“We have to have a happy marriage between oil companies' problems and the concerns of the aam aadmi (common man),” Congress leader Veerappa Moily said.
The question that now arises is whether the party has finally succumbed to political compulsions, overriding economic factors.
Global oil prices are rising and oil companies have already complained that they may soon go bankrupt.
While most allies, barring the Left, seem to accept the inevitable, there is a rethink within the Congress.
At the CWC, the mandate was in favour of either postponing the hike or having a small one. After all, in an election year economics often takes a backseat.
“We feel concerned about the aam aadmi and the rising inflation. We are taking all cautious fiscal measures so as to ensure that the burden is not solely shouldered by the consumers,” Mouily added.
So with elections in several states coming up and with General Elections not too far away, Congress realises that it needs to pull up its socks.
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