Petrol prices rose for the fourth time in a year, then backed down to strong opposition

Political\\ The three state-owned oil giants — Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) — increased the price of petrol by ` 1.82 per litre on the 4th of November, the fourth such hike in a single year. The move caused a furor as opposition parties called it a “midnight massacre”. The most vocal opposition came from West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. Her party, the Trinamool Congress, threatened to withdraw support if petrol prices were not rolled back, though she later, retreated from her strong stance. Initially, the government maintained a firm stand on the issue. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not only backed the price hike but also refused to guarantee against a future increase in prices. However, in an unprecedented move on November 16th, the government declared a reduction of ` 1.85 a litre. This more than neutralises the previous hike, which was announced barely a fortnight before. It is generally believed that political compulsions are responsible for the rollback, but the government says it is due to globally falling crude prices as well as the marginal climb in the rupee-dollar exchange rate.