Friday, May 13 2005 15:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Mani Shankar Aiyar today (May 13, 2005) ruled out immediate hike in prices of petroleum products and said that a decision on this would be taken after consultation with all parties within the ruling UPA (United Progressive Alliance) and the Left.

''There will be no immediate increase in prices of petroleum products. I think such a serious political and economic decision should not be taken by the Government alone. It should be taken after consultations with all parties within the UPA and the Left,'' Aiyar told reporters at the State secretariat in Kolkata.

Stating that discussion on the issue was on since mid-march and the matter also figured in the Union Cabinet, Aiyar said that talks had been held with CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist), CPI (Communist Party of India), Forward Bloc (FB) and RSP (Rashtriya Samajwadi Party) but CPI wanted another round of discussion.

Apart from this, a series of consultations had also taken place with UPA partners like RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal), Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) and talks would be held with DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam) also, he said.