Cong. defends, opposition slams fuel price hike
Congress Spokesperson Manish Tiwari defended the hike in fuel prices and added that the Central Government was compelled to take such a harsh step in order to counter the threat of becoming the first of the big emerging economies to be downgraded to junk. Tiwari said that the Government was not in favour of a steep hike, but the boiling global crude oil prices had forced the party to announce such a move.