Party's city president Shivi Jaiswal said the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre had perpetuated a "fraud'', as the decision on hike was taken after elections without the people's mandate, resulting in the rise in cost of essential commodities. To tide over the financial crunch, the government should have concentrated on recovery of arrears from big business houses and cut on government expenses, he said.

Favouring decentralisation of financial powers to the states and opposing the participation of multi-national companies, the party criticised the Centre for the Insurance Regulatory Authority Bill.

Major P.P. Singh and Bhupinder Kakkar, who were present at the meeting, also sought equal treatment after elections in grant of financial assistance to the families of those who had laid down their lives in Kargil.

Meanwhile, local units of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Janata Dal (Secular), in a joint statement, have also expressed deep anguish over the hike in diesel prices.