Centre 'looting' people through fuel price hike, says Sapkal, announces protests from May 26

The Maharashtra Congress on Monday accused the Narendra Modi-led government of ''looting'' the common people through repeated hikes in petrol and diesel prices and demanded an immediate rollback.

Addressing a press conference here, state unit president Harshwardhan Sapkal noted that petrol and diesel prices have increased by Rs 8 per litre over the last 11 days and claimed that the hike, in the backdrop of the Iran conflict, added to the burden of inflation on citizens already facing financial hardship.

''If the government cannot control inflation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should step down,'' Sapkal said.

He announced that the Congress would hold protests in every district of Maharashtra from Tuesday, through its various departments, cells and affiliated organisations, demanding a rollback of the fuel price hike and an end to the ''loot'' of citizens.

The BJP government has been misleading people by citing the Iran conflict as the reason for the increase in fuel prices, the Congress leader alleged, citing that in the last 12 years of the Modi government, petrol prices had risen by 38 per cent and diesel prices by 62 per cent.

Petrol and diesel prices rose by Rs 2.61-2.71 per litre on Monday, marking the fourth increase in less than two weeks, as state-owned fuel retailers passed on rising international oil prices to consumers.

Drawing a comparison with the previous regime, Sapkal claimed that under the Congress-led UPA government, fuel prices were kept below Rs 72 per litre even when international crude oil touched USD 100 per barrel.

In contrast, despite crude remaining around USD 50-55 per barrel for most of the Modi government's tenure, petrol continues to be sold at around Rs 100 per litre, he added.

Sapkal further alleged that the Centre had amassed a staggering Rs 43 lakh crore through taxes and excise duties on petroleum products over the past 12 years, and claimed that state-run oil marketing companies - including Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum - raked in Rs 12,400 crore within hours of the latest hike.

Criticising BJP leaders, Sapkal said they would protest even marginal increases in fuel prices during the UPA regime but were now silent on inflation.

He also criticised statements by BJP leaders attributing queues at petrol pumps to panic buying despite assurances that adequate fuel stock was available in Maharashtra.

Calling such remarks ''irresponsible'' and ''misleading'', Sapkal said the BJP government was trying to evade responsibility.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)