The Parliament meets after four-day break with price rise high on the agenda. The reply on the debate in the Rajya Sabha is slated for today while Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar will reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.<br/><br/>The core group of Congress Committee met in New Delhi on Tuesday night and finalised the strategy on oil price hike. According to party sources, it was agreed in the meeting that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and other senior leaders of the alliance will hold discussions with MPs of all alliance partners to convince them about the necessity of the oil price hike. The Finance Minister will brief the Congress MPs today. <br/><br/>In a related development, UPA allies DMK and Trinamool Congress have softened their stand on oil price hike. They were demanding rollback of the oil price hike.<br/><br/>On the other hand, the opposition has stepped up its offensive against the Government on the oil price hike. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar criticised the Prime Minister for his statement ruling out rollback of price hike. CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said in New Delhi that party did not accept the argument offered by the Government to justify the hike. He said the walk out from the Lok Sabha by entire opposition last week is an expression that Left Parties and other secular parties and NDA are on the same platform on the issue. Both BJP and Left Parties have launched the agitation in several parts of the country against the price hike.