Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh today rebuffed the Opposition's condemnation of the Government's pronouncement to increase fuel prices, stating that the move to free petrol and diesel rates was ‘much-necessary’ reforms and that there should be no ‘extreme populism’.

The reality that petrol prices have been set free, the similar thing is going to be done to the diesel prices; they are much-needed reforms, he told journalists, who were accompanying him while he was heading back home from Toronto, where he attended the G-20 Summit.

The Government on June 25, de-managed petrol prices, which resulted in a Rs. 3.50 a liter increase in rates in Delhi, and raised diesel prices by Rs. 2 a liter in preparation for a concluding decontrol.

Besides this, domestic LPG prices were also increased by Rs. 35 per cylinder and kerosene rates went up by Rs. 3 per liter, which was the foremost increase in the poor man's cooking fuel in no less than 8 years to cut Governmental financial backing.

Freeing diesel prices from Government management would result in rates rising by an additional Rs. 1.50 per liter, but no timeframe has been placed for doing so.

The Prime Minister was answering a question on the Government's decision on Friday.