Slamming the government for causing "hardships" to people by increasing the price of petrol, NDA Convenor and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav on Thursday asked the Manmohan Singh government to resign and seek a fresh mandate.

Yadav, who is lodged in a camp jail in Bihar's Saharsa town for allegedly trying to enforce the bandh call, said the hike in petrol and price rise causing immense hardships to the common people was the result of the "faulty economic policy" pursued by the Congress-led UPA.

"Now the situation has reached to such a pass that even the coalition partners of the Congress-led government at the Centre too have taken recourse to agitational programmes," Yadav said.

"The devaluation of Indian currency too has compounded the problems and the Manmohan Singh government must resign immediately," Yadav said.

He asked the Congress to go to people for fresh mandate as people have "lost their faith" in the party and its government at the Centre.

Yadav took the opportunity to thank the SP, DMK, BJD and Left parties for coming out in open support for the call. The response to the call is "historic", Yadav said, adding the situation had "worsened" because of scams after scams surfacing in the country.

"Don't stay any more and seek fresh mandate," Yadav advised the Congress.