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Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury has questioned government's move to hike the price of petrol, and alleged that one of the direct beneficiaries of this steep increase would be the government itself. "Why are you doing this, when the international price of crude oil is falling? Why are you doing this, calculating your under recoveries on the basis of international prices and not on the prices of your cost of production. I mean, these are the questions. How are you continuing to earn a bonanza of tax revenue? By this hike, now what will happen, by this 7.50 rupees hike, at least 40 percent of this hike will go as taxes to government revenue," said Yechury. "So, people are paying more and you will have at least about three rupees definitely out of this 7.50 (rupees), when you do the calculations you will know, or 3.50 (rupees), will go as taxes and revenue for the government," he added. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav urged various political parties to deliberate over the matter with the government to rectify the present economic situation. "The leaders of United States of America and the European countries, who have a major hold over the world's oil, want to fill up their own coffers. A senior U.S. representative had come to India recently, urging the government to not import oil from Iran . From where then should we import oil?" asked Yadav. "The result is that petrol prices have been raised again. Ironically, this hike is not final either. It can be raised again. All political leaders and stakeholders must sit together and discuss this issue. It is a matter of serious concern," he added. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief Sharad Yadav lambasted the government for not consulting other parties before taking the decision to increase the price of petrol. "The government must have a sense of justice and fairness. Putting such an enormous burden on one section of the society is not correct. The manner in which they have raised the prices of petrol is also shocking. The government has, in a way, put the petroleum ministry out of the picture. It does not want to discuss the issue with other parties. It does not want to shed light on how and why the prices were raised, or why the value of the rupee has depreciated so much," said Yadav. "The question, the opposition is raising, is that whether the people would bear the brunt of the fact that the Congress party's economic model has failed over the past 21 years? Even if you have to put the burden on the masses, would you not even discuss the decision with other parties?" he asked, while expressing his displeasure over the concerned matter. In the steepest ever increase, the UPA-II Government on Wednesday raised petrol prices by about a massive Rs 7.54 per litre, the first hike in rates in six months. The hike in prices means that the price of petrol in Delhi will go up from Rs.65.64 per litre to Rs.73.14 per litre. In Mumbai, the price will go from Rs.70.66 per litre to Rs.78.16 per litre. In Kolkata, the price will go from Rs.70.03 per litre to Rs.77.53 per litre In Chennai, the price will go from Rs.69.55 per litre to Rs.77.05 per litre. State-owned oil companies have decided to raise petrol price by Rs 6.28 per litre excluding local sales tax or VAT. The hike translates into Rs 7.50 per litre in Delhi and is the steepest ever. The decision to hike petrol prices comes a day after the end of the Budget Session of Parliament.

Left, allies pull up UPA II over petrol price hike