Opposing the motion, moved by G Karthikeyan (Cong-I), Food and Civil Supplies Minister E Chandrasekharan Nair said that the hike in the issue prices of rice, wheat and sugar would adversely affect the State, as 75 per cent of ration card holders were people above the poverty line.

Exemption was granted yesterday to those below the poverty line. The recent hike would benefit only 25 per cent of the population in the State, he said and demanded withdrawal of the hike in toto.

Nair termed as `unjustified', the Union Finance Minister's statement that the hike in the Central issue prices was to bring down the fiscal deficit. ``This sort of an exercise is based on a wrong economicpremise,'' he said.

In a change of stand the Congress(I), which had been canvassing against continuance of subsidies, has now come out against the BJP-led coalition Government's action of hiking the issue prices to minimise the subsidy component.

On Karthikeyan's demand that the State Government should lessen the burden of ration card holders and subsidise the entire increase from its own resources, Nair said such an approach was not good for the State, which is facing a financial crisis. ``It is like letting off the actual murderer and punishing the witness,'' he added.

Nair said the Government was incurring an expenditure of Rs 110 crore a year, by giving a subsidy of Rs one per kg for four kgs of rice to ration card holders. Any further commitment on this was not possible, in view of the State's position, he said.

Raising the issue, Karthikeyan said the Congress(I) was firm in its demand for withdrawal of the hike.

The Prime Minister should act, instead of shying away from issues by observingfasts, he added.

On the member's contention that Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu Governments had already announced their plans to subsidise the entire hike in the prices, Nair asked if the then Congress (I)-led Government here had replicated the Andhra Pradesh model when the then chief minister N T Rama Rao had given a huge rice subsidy totalling Rs 1,500 crore.

In the light of this answer, Speaker M Vijayakumar withheld consent to the motion, leading to the Opposition walk-out.

Before leading his colleagues out of the house, Leader of Opposition A K Antony said the partial modification effected in the hike would not do any good to the State.

The State Government, on its part, should subsidise the entire hike for one year or at least six months. The price of rice had gone up by Rs four a kg in the open market, as a consequence of the decision to hike the issue prices, he pointed out.

Referring to the ruling Marxist-led, Left Democratic Front-sponsored hartal to protest against theprice hike on February 9, Antony said that the Opposition would have cooperated had it been organised by the Government, instead of the LDF.