Signs of the Congress' growing discomfort with the hike in diesel prices are becoming clearer. Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday demanded a partial reduction of prices, if not a full rollback.
The price of diesel was increased by Rs 5 a litre on Thursday night, setting off a storm of protests by the Congress' allies as well as the Opposition. The party has defended the hike, saying it was unavoidable due to the rising global cost of fuel.
Oommen Chandy, who heads Congress-led UDF government in the state, said, "If it is difficult to completely roll back the increase, the Centre should at least reduce the hike."
The Left, which is the main opposition in Kerala, has already announced a day-long strike call for Saturday, as has the BJP.
Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh too had said on Thursday night that the party was not in favour of the extent of the hike and that it was an "unpleasant decision" of the government.