Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday criticised the Central government over the fourth fuel price hike in 10 days, alleging that the government was "quietly fleecing" the pockets of citizens. He claimed that while fuel prices were kept under control during elections, they are now being increased in instalments and will continue to rise further.
Dubbing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "Inflation Man Modi", Rahul Gandhi said he had earlier warned of an impending "economic storm", but alleged that the Prime Minister remained focused on election campaigning at the time. "Inflation Man Modi strikes again. They raise petrol-diesel prices in installments--so that your pocket keeps getting quietly fleeced.
I've been warning for months about an economic storm coming. But Modi ji, as always, was busy with elections back then--and the moment elections ended, petrol-diesel was hiked by ?8," the Congress leader wrote on X."And this rise will just keep happening. Inflation Man Modi's only job is this--promises during elections, and the rest of the time, attacks on the public's pocket," his post added. Earlier today, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also targeted the government, alleging that every section of society, from farmers to small industries, was "bearing the brunt of the BJP's loot of the country".
"The Daily Assault of FUEL LOOT is not over yet!" Kharge wrote in a post on X. "Every fuel price hike is another blow to household budgets, and has a cascading effect on every aspect of the economy. From Farmers to MSMEs, every strata of the society bears the brunt of the BJP's LOOT," Kharge added.
The latest revision follows three successive hikes in recent days. On May 15, petrol and diesel prices were increased by Rs 3 per litre each. This was followed by another hike on May 19 of 90 paise per litre. On May 23, petrol prices were raised by 87 paise per litre, while diesel went up by 91 paise per litre. The repeated fuel price hikes come amid sustained pressure on oil marketing companies due to elevated global crude oil prices, fluctuations in currency exchange rates and concerns over supply disruptions linked to the ongoing tensions in West Asia. The continued hikes in petrol, diesel and CNG prices are likely to increase logistics and transportation costs further, potentially triggering a cascading effect on retail inflation and impacting household budgets as well as commercial transport sectors across the country.
