While the opposition staged a noisy walk-out in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday protesting against the price hike, the Vajpayee government suffered acute embarrassment when Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal of the Akali Dal, an ally of the BJP-led government, demanded immediate withdrawal of the price hike.

Badal told newspersons after meeting Vajpayee, finance minister Yashwant Sinha and others that the Centre had assured him it would look into the matter seriously.

Badal made an issue out of the price increase saying the decision would hit Punjab's farmers the most as they consumed the bulk of urea.

Outside parliament, the Left parties including the CPI(M), CPI, RSP and the Forward Block attacked the government saying the hike would be a big burden on farmers. Anincrease of Rs 25 per bag would cripple them, the parties said, and decided to launch a nationwide stir on the issue by June 15.

The Congress has taken up the issue in a major way with senior Congress working committee (CWC) member and former union minister Rajesh Pilot challenging the government on the issue. Pilot told newspersons that his party would not allow the government to take an anti-farmer decision.

The opposition wrath was fuelled by Sinha in the Lok Sabha when he said the protest was only an attempt to derive political advantage.

Replying to demands for rolling back the 50 paise per kg increase in urea prices, Sinha said it was unfortunate the anxiety of the opposition parties, particularly the Congress, was not because of any sympathy with the farmers, but for political reasons. The opposition ire did not subside, and they took up the issue immediately after the Lok Sabha resumed its sitting after the lunch recess. Expressing distress over Sinha's remark, Congress leader and formerunion minister P Shiv Shanker demanded an apology from him.

Sinha bowed to the pressure saying "sorry" if he hurt anyone by his remark. But this too did not satisfy the opposition members, who demanded that the minister give specific assurances about increases in petrol and urea prices.

Earlier, reacting to the opposition attack, Sinha launched a counter-offensive during zero hour, saying that ``as the budget is pro-farmers, the opposition is jealous and playing politics in the name of espousing agriculturists' cause.''