Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly opposed the Centre's decision to hike diesel prices and allow foreign direct investment or FDI in retail, senior party leader and former Union Minister Arun Shourie justified the move saying it was the need of the hour."Increasing diesel prices was the need of the hour," Mr Shourie told reporters last evening in Bhopal.A lot of hue and cry is being raised unnecessarily on the issue of FDI in retail as this will neither lead to profit nor losses, the BJP leader said.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has for the first time shown his strength," he added.The government, taking some politically tough decisions last week had hiked the price of diesel by Rs. 5 per litre, capped the supply of subsidised LPG cylinders to six per household and cleared 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in multi-brand retail - reforms, which saw its biggest ally, Mamata Banerjee, pull out of the UPA.