Even prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and home minister LK Advani supported the agitated party MPs and asked the finance minister to consider the demand sympathetically.

The arguments took place in the BJP parliamentary party special meeting, convened to discuss the budget. Sinha was invited to explain the budget to the party members. The finance minister had increased the price of urea by one rupee in his budget. He, however, reduced it by 50 paise the next day.

Briefing newspersons after the BJP meeting, parliamentary affairs minister Madan Lal Khurana said 18 members, including minister of state for railways Ram Naik andAdvani, demanded that the hike be withdrawan.

Sinha told them that he would keep the feelings of partymen in mind while replying to the discussion on the budget, Khurana said. On petrol, finance minister said his government had no intention to increase its price. But the cess of Re 1 a litre was imposed for the development of national highways.Sinha pacified members by saying his ministry will extend more benefits to farmers, which he will announce during his reply to the budget.

But he dropped a hint that the government had asked the Reserve Bank to formulate new loan policy for farmers. The provision for penal interest is likely to be waived off. The Reserve Bank had also been asked to see if old loans could be recovered by charging an amount equivalent to the capital.

The rest of the interest will also be waived off. Sinha said the price of urea was hiked twice by the Congress government in 1991 and 1994 and once by the United Front government last year. Holding both the Congress and UF governmentsresponsible for the present situation on the fertiliser Front, Sinha said anti-farmer fertiliser policy of the two previous governments had forced his government to hike the price.