M A I N   N E W S

NDA MPs press govt to reduce phone tariff hike
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 12
Members of Parliament belonging to the NDA have approached individually and collectively Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Union Communications Minister Arun Shourie demanding the immediate reversal of the decision to increase the basic telephone tariff.

The concern of these MPs does not seem to be aimed at fishing out the poor telephone consumers, but motivated by the fact that the telecom rate hike could severely affect their electoral prospects in the coming elections.

According to sources, a majority of MPs, who have urged the Union Telecom Minister for rolling back the tariff hike, are from the four states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi — which are going to polls before November, 2003.

Meanwhile, sources said Mr Shourie had reportedly expressed the inability of his ministry to review or roll back the telecom tariff hike as the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).