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UPA allies warn govt on economic reform fallout New Delhi, September 27 Speaking at the UPA coordination committee meeting, the first since Trinamool Congress pulled out of the ruling combine, worried DMK representative TR Baalu said these decisions would hurt the common man and that it would be difficult to face them during elections. He pressed for a partial rollback on the diesel price hike and an increase in the cap on LPG cylinders from six to twelve. The DMK is also unhappy with the decision to open up the retail sector to foreign investors. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP wants the ceiling on subsidised cooking gas to be raised. The 18-member DMK, now the UPA’s largest ally after Trinamool Congress’ pullout, had organised a bandh on September 20 along with other opposition parties to protest these decisions. Having placed their concerns on the table, the UPA constituents were brought around to back the Centre’s economic decisions. The endorsement from the allies comes two days after the Prime Minister secured the support of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) whose members had also expressed similar fears about the negative impact of these reforms in the upcoming Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat elections. The Prime Minister stood his ground at the meeting and explained the government’s compulsions for taking these decisions while underlining that these were unavoidable in light of the country’s faltering economy. Drawing from his recent address to the nation, the Prime Minister pointed out that it had become imperative to undertake these measures to stop further weakening of the rupee and to attract foreign investments to the infrastructure and other core areas. He also indicated that the government would push ahead with “more reforms”. Chidambaram said, “We reviewed the situation following the number of decisions announced in the last 10 days. There was general satisfaction over the steps taken by the government although some of them would put a burden on the people,” adding that stakeholders had understood that these measures were necessary and unavoidable.The Finance Minister said the PM underlined the need for economic reforms to ensure “there is no volatility in the rupee and investments continue to flow into India” while stimulating domestic investors. In his presentation at today’s meeting, Chidambaram dwelt at length over the positive spin-off of these measures while assuring the members that efforts would be made to protect the interests of the common man. Although the DMK and the NCP are known to be UPA’s most reliable allies, it was considered necessary to take them into confidence on these measures so that the Congress and its partners are on the same page and are able to unitedly counter the opposition propaganda on these issues. PM stands his ground
Explains the government’s compulsions for taking decisions related to reforms Says these were unavoidable in light of the country’s faltering economy It had become imperative to stop further weakening of the rupee The steps were initiated to attract foreign investments to the infrastructure and other core areas
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