As the head of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been caught like a doe between covert economics and overt populism. No surprise then that the Government chose to issue a press release with blank spaces, on the "marginal" hike effected on petrol, diesel and cooking gas. Clearly, the Government is finding it tough to do its math in a manner that it can convince consumers already hard hit by 8.1 per cent inflation. It has no qualms making the aam aadmi pay more for everything, rather than lose out on its own revenues.