"The government is open to consider the 9.5 per cent rate also as demanded by the Left Parties and the Prime Minister will decide next week on this, after returning from Hague," Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state in the prime minister's office told a BBC programme on Sunday night.

"So far as the issue of EPF interest rate is concerned, the Board had recommended an interest rate of 8.5 per cent, the reason being that when we put the PF money on interest, we get a rate of four to five per cent.

So keeping the UTI "disaster" during the previous government in mind, due care has to be taken to protect the hard earned money of the poor working class.

Justifying the Left's concerns, he said "We are looking towards a two-pronged solution, that the poor get full benefit and a good rate of interest, and for the rich we can have a different approach a lower rate."

Denying that the Prime Minister's Office was run by a remote, Chavan said: "Let me make it clear that there is no remote in the hands of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

We consult all involved before arriving at any conclusion. If you look carefully a lot of government information is now available on government websites, but when it comes to decision making, it is the cabinet which decides."