Seeking withdrawal of the hike in petrol, diesel and LPG prices, a senior Communist Party of India-Marxist MP on Monday challenged the official figures of under-recoveries by oil manufacturing companies, saying these were 'fictitious and totally absurd.'

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Tapan Sen said in his address to the nation, Singh had mentioned that the oil companies were facing under-recoveries worth Rs 2,45,305 crore (Rs 2,453.05 billion) which had led the government to hike petrol prices by Rs 5 per litre.

In the same vein, a senior official of the petroleum ministry had said the entire under-recoveries could be made up if petrol was priced at Rs 71 per litre at the present crude prices level of $130 a barrel.

"As per lay-man's calculation, Rs 71 per litre is equivalent to $256 per barrel. As you are well aware, the cost of crude comprises 93-94 per cent of the cost of the finished product viz petrol, diesel etc.

"The figure of $126 (256 minus 130) per barrel as conversion cost of refining crude to petroleum product appears to be fictitious and totally absurd, specially in India which is self-sufficient in respect of refining," the CPI-M MP said in the letter.

"I am sure, the absurdity and totally speculative nature of such product costing has prompted you to form a committee to find out the real mystery behind the figures, euphemistically designated as 'under-recoveries' in the official circles and 'losses' for public consumption," he said and demanded withdrawal of the decision to hike petro-product prices.