The BJP ally Janata Dal (United) demanded on Wednesday that the government roll back the hike in cooking gas cylinder prices and step in to check the rising fuel prices as these have affected common households.

JD(U) spokesperson K C Tyagi said the repeated hike in the LPG price has affected people's budget adversely.

"The government should roll back the hike," he said.

He also spoke against leaving petrol and diesel prices to market mechanism, and said the government must step in to curb their cost for people's benefit.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party has of late taken positions on certain issues that have raised eyebrows.

Kumar had backed the opposition's demand for a probe into the alleged snooping involving Pegasus spyware.

He has also led the chorus for a caste census, a politically fraught issue over which the BJP has so far maintained silence.

The prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cooking gas cylinders across all categories including subsidised gas were hiked on Wednesday by Rs 25 per cylinder -- the third straight increase in rates in less than two months.

Subsidised as well as non-subsidised LPG now costs Rs 884.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi, according to a price notification of oil companies.