New Delhi, October 4: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held a meeting with his ministers over rising prices of petrol and diesel in the country. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah was also present. PM Modi expressed concerns over rising fuel prices in the season of Rabi crops. PM Modi consulted Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

At the high-level meeting with ministers, Shah and finance ministry officials, PM Modi explored the possibility to mitigate farmers' distress in the wake of the rising prices of petrol and diesel. The meeting came a day after the government hiked minimum support price (MSP) of Rabi crops, in a bid to raise farmers' income. The government is dealing with double blow by rising fuel prices and farmers' protest in parts of the country.

On Thursday, petrol and diesel prices touched new heights. Price of petrol hit the Rs 84 per litre mark in Delhi, and diesel price crossed Rs 80 per litre mark in Mumbai. Fuel prices have been witnessing a steep rise since the past few weeks. However, the government has been blaming international factors for a hike in prices of petroleum products.

On Tuesday, violent clashes broke out between agitating farmers and the Delhi Police when cops stopped them from entering the national capital with tractors and trollies. The police used water cannons and tear-gas to disperse them. The farmers had a charter of 15 demands including immediate loan waiver and fair prices for crops.

Although the protests were called off following assurance by the government, farmers have threatened to resume it if their all demands are not met. Their demands include revoking of the ban on 10-year-old tractors in the National Capital Region (NCR), reduction in electricity tariff, implementation of the recommendations of the M.S. Swaminathan Commission on remunerative prices and payment of sugarcane arrears.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 04, 2018 01:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).