Tuesday, June 6 2006 12:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Strongly condemning the hike in prices of petrol and diesel by the UPA Government, AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa today (June 6,2006) demanded its immediate rollback.

"Hiking the petroleum products prices six times in 24 months is the biggest achivement of the UPA Government. No other government in the past had done so. It is a great agony to the people," she said in a statement here.

"The hike would have cascading effect on the economy as the prices of the essential commodities would go up," she said.

"People voted for the UPA on the faith that the it would work for their betterment and not for price hikes," she said.

"It is regreable that the UPA government is a government that continues to betray people's interests. The diesel price hike will affect the common people and the farmers," she said.

"For this 'atrocity', the constituents of the DPA, headed by the DMK, were hand in glove," she charged.

Taking a dig at the Left parties, she said, "It is funny to note that the parties, which had given their consent for the hike, condemned the hike and announced an agitation."

" The centre had decided on the hike even before the recent assembly polls in five states and waited till the poll outcome for implementing its decision," she alleged.

"Pointing out that the previous AIADMK Government had not increased the bus fare despite the increase in the diesel prices in the last two years, she said if Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had any inclination to help the people, he should reduce the sales tax on petroleum products. This suggestion was given to her by Karunanidhi when she was the Chief Minister," she said.