Have no intention to destabilise UPA govt: NCP

Mumbai: Stating that it has no intention to "destabilise" the UPA government, the NCP, which is a key ally of Congress at the Centre and in Maharashtra, on Thursday said the party did not want rollback in diesel price hike and capping of gas cylinders but is hoping to "streamline" the distribution mechanism.

State party spokesperson Nawab Malik proposed that the loss-making oil companies be compensated by the Centre by raising excise duty on expensive and luxurious cars and the rich be excluded from LPG subsidies.

"At present, LPG subsidies are provided to one family which includes the rich industrialists as well as poor slum dwellers. To remove imbalance, improvement should be brought in the public distribution system (PDS). For a family of three to five, there should be 12 cylinders instead of six (per year) while a family of 15 to 20 people should have 18 cylinders a year instead of six," Malik said.

He said the party will put forward its suggestions in this regard in the UPA coordination committee meeting on Friday.

"We are a responsible party and ally of the UPA and have no intentions to destabilise the government. We want it to complete its term," Malik said.

Explaining NCP's viewpoint, he said the party was not demanding a rollback but wanted the existing mechanism to be streamlined so that the poor are not deprived and the rich do not get unnecessary concessions.

On Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee's criticism that allies were not consulted by Congress, Malik said,"the NCP had already raised the issue that important decisions like these should be discussed in the coordination committee and then a final decision should be taken".

When asked about this, Maharashtra unit Congress president Manikrao Thakre said the NCP should support the Congress' decision to raise the LPG cylinder cap per year per household from six to nine.

"Whatever issues they have should be discussed by the leadership," he said while rejecting the charge that there was no coordination among allies. "Coordination committee meetings take place every month," he said.