Rising fuel prices and inflation in general continued to rock the Lok Sabha on Monday too as Opposition leaders sought to corner the government, demanding roll back of the prices and a discussion in the House.

The Opposition pressure led the government to agree for a discussion on the issue that will be taken up this week. The business advisory committee of the Lok Sabha chaired by Speaker Om Birla decided to hold a discussion on inflation and also the war in Ukraine.

Opposition leaders stood one after another during zero hour, to highlight the hardship the common man was going through with fuel prices being raised almost on a daily basis and pressed the government should clarify its position on the issue in the House.

The Opposition has been protesting both inside and outside Parliament since the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas started going up post the Assembly election results.

“The common man is distressed. Dacoity is being committed on their pockets,” said the Congress’s House leader Adhir Choudhary. He talked about the countrywide agitation against price rise being launched by the Congress.

“Mehangai mukt Bharat chahiye (India free of inflation is needed),” Adhir stressed and demanded the government should face the House over the issue. He claimed the government imports less than 1 per cent of oil from Russia and so blaming the price rise on the Ukraine war didn’t carry weight.

DMK’s House leader T.R. Baalu too raised the issue, stressing the burden on the common man due to rising prices of all essential goods. He said the current government should take lessons from the UPA regime and provide subsidies to reduce oil prices to tame inflation.

Trinamul Congress’s Sudip Bandopadhyay said the way the prices of diesel, petrol and cooking gas were raised almost on a daily basis, the common man is terrified. “Where it will stop? How far it will go?” he asked and stressed the government should come clean on the issue.

Sudip said the government’s claim that the oil prices were de-controlled and that oil companies increased or decreased it according to international prices was just an excuse given the way the prices were kept static during election time.

“Price rise is a burning issue and the government should address the House,” Sudip said, demanding a discussion on the issue in the House.