Friday, May 20 2005 13:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Opposing Petroleum Ministry's reported move to hike petrol and diesel price, veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu said that the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) had already asked the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government not to resort to such price rise.

''They (UPA) discussed the issue among themselves, but now it seems they are going to increase it (oil price),'' Basu told reporters at the end of the CPM State secretariat meeting in Kolkata.

Inspite of such a move by the Centre, Basu said, CPM would continue to support the UPA Government from outside ''though we have some basic differences with the UPA, particularly on economic issues''.

To a question, Basu reiterated CPM's decision not to attend the Congress-led UPA Government's anniversary celebrations on May 22.

''They can celebrate in their own way, but we have our own differences with the UPA, which will be let known to the people later,'' Basu told reporters.

Basu told a questioner that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had invited him to attend a dinner party in Delhi on May 18. ''But I had already informed her my inability to attend it''.

Asked how he would assess the UPA Government's performance in last one year, Basu quipped, ''UPA Government has its own way of assessing their own services to the nation, but ours is different from their assessment process.... We will let the people know of our views later.''