Congress cannot be trapped on fuel prices hike, Sonia has said the final word

By O.J.George

The combined Opposition has been trying to corner the Congress Party and its UPA II allies on the issue of hike in prices of petrol and diesel.

The Left parties have been one with the stance of the BJP and allies in opposing the fuel prices increase.

It seemed the Opposition has been gaining an upper hand on the issue as the common man is also furious about the hike, which will cause a spurt in prices of essential commodities in a market which was already on a high on the front.

Someone thought Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was being cornered in the wake of stiff resistance from DMK of M.Karunanidhi and Trinamul Congress of Mamata Banerjee.

But lately, there were overtures from DMK and Trinamul that they were close-knit with the UPA II Government.

To cap the strategic position of the Congress party, its president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday addressed Congress MPs , after a gap of six months, driving the point home that food security and prices were a top priority.

But she was careful enough to defend Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee by saying he has done a deft balancing of the budget.Resources have to be found for implementing social welfare measures.

Sonia Gandhi also drew inspiration to cite the presentation of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament on the world women’s day on Monday. Reservation, when implemented, would be a gift to the women.

BJP leader L.K.Advani has always been keen to castigate Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, this time he picked on Dr Singh for resuming India-Pak talks at the nudge of the US.

Dr Singh has been quick to notify Advani about the importance of back-channel diplomacy. A lot of behind- the- curtain talks were held between the-then Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and US Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott during the BJP-led NDA regime.

Congress think-tank has been active, it seems, and its policy and administrative measures cannot be taken advantage of by rivals for political reasons.

Mind you, Sonia Gandhi has fallen in line to defend her flock.