NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday hit out at the BJP-led government over the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel by 80 paise and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder by Rs 50. Speaking to the media outside the Parliament, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said: “The government has once again revealed its anti-poor policy. By increasing the prices of petrol and diesel by 80 paise, the government is pocketing to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore.”
Targeting the government for the fuel price hike, Kharge said that people are citing the Ukraine-Russia war as a reason for fuel shortage. “However, the (government) reply in the house proves the sufficient quantity of oil being purchased from Russia,” said Kharge, claiming that the price hike was a planned move by the Centre.
Training his guns at the BJP government, Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that his party had warned against the hike after the elections. “We had warned against this (fuel price hike). The government was waiting for the election results before announcing the hike in prices. They have mismanaged the economy,” Chowdhury said.
Meanwhile, Anand Sharma also slammed the government and said, “It is very clear that the government was waiting for the election results to be out. And once again, they have repeated what they have been doing for the last eight years — hurting the poor without any justification.”
“The price of crude oil per barrel in the international market yesterday was $108. Which is exactly the same as it was in 2014 May, when Narendra Modi and his government assumed office. However, the fuel price in Delhi or national average in 2014 was Rs 71 or less. The hike has been drastic,” he alleged, adding that the BJP government has mismanaged the economy and cheated the poor. “When they want to raise some resources, it is to loot the poor, to hurt the poor,” he claimed.