‘Petrol, diesel costs regulated by election dates and never international charges’: Congress hits out at BJP

By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday demanded instant aid for center and lower-income group households by lowering petrol and diesel by a minimum of Rs 15 per litre and cooking fuel costs by a minimum of Rs 150 per cylinder.

Addressing a press convention right here, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh requested why the customers needed to bear the brunt of excessive gasoline costs when crude oil costs have been at a seven-month low and inflation was above RBI’s higher band of six per cent for the final seven months.

“Why is the relief not being passed on to the consumers when the burden of high crude prices is always passed on,” he requested.

“Petrol and diesel prices are regulated by election dates and not global rates,” he stated, alleging that when elections close to, the federal government reduces the costs or places them on freeze, and when they’re over, they increase the costs.

“What are the excuses by the Modi government for not passing on the relief on decreasing LPG prices to the consumers? Does the Modi government only believe in passing on the burden to the consumers,” the Congress chief requested.

He stated retail inflation, GDP progress, and a depreciating rupee are among the examples that paint a worrying image of how the economic system is being managed.

“The current BJP government is creating new lows with more data points released by its own government. The middle and lower-income groups suffer the most due to the callousness and incompetence of the government.”

“The consistently high retail inflation is one of the most concerning areas that need immediate government intervention,” Vallabh stated.

He alleged that the federal government has been primarily essentially the most thoughtless in direction of the gasoline costs.

“Since they have a cascading effect across all economic activities, the government’s inactions speak of its cluelessness and misguided focus.”

“The prices of crude oil have been consistently on a downward spiral for the last few months and are at a seven-month low. But the prices of Petrol and Diesel in our country don’t seem to reflect this trend, even after deregulation, which means that the prices of petrol and diesel should change as per global prices,” he stated.

Citing knowledge from the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC, Government of India), he stated crude oil Indian basket as on September 8, 2022 was USD 88 per barrel, which was USD 116 in June this yr.

He stated after elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, the petrol and diesel costs have been elevated 9 instances in 10 days between March 22 and March 31, 2022.

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday demanded instant aid for center and lower-income group households by lowering petrol and diesel by a minimum of Rs 15 per litre and cooking fuel costs by a minimum of Rs 150 per cylinder.

Addressing a press convention right here, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh requested why the customers needed to bear the brunt of excessive gasoline costs when crude oil costs have been at a seven-month low and inflation was above RBI’s higher band of six per cent for the final seven months.

“Why is the relief not being passed on to the consumers when the burden of high crude prices is always passed on,” he requested.

“Petrol and diesel prices are regulated by election dates and not global rates,” he stated, alleging that when elections close to, the federal government reduces the costs or places them on freeze, and when they’re over, they increase the costs.

“What are the excuses by the Modi government for not passing on the relief on decreasing LPG prices to the consumers? Does the Modi government only believe in passing on the burden to the consumers,” the Congress chief requested.

He stated retail inflation, GDP progress, and a depreciating rupee are among the examples that paint a worrying image of how the economic system is being managed.

“The current BJP government is creating new lows with more data points released by its own government. The middle and lower-income groups suffer the most due to the callousness and incompetence of the government.”

“The consistently high retail inflation is one of the most concerning areas that need immediate government intervention,” Vallabh stated.

He alleged that the federal government has been primarily essentially the most thoughtless in direction of the gasoline costs.

“Since they have a cascading effect across all economic activities, the government’s inactions speak of its cluelessness and misguided focus.”

“The prices of crude oil have been consistently on a downward spiral for the last few months and are at a seven-month low. But the prices of Petrol and Diesel in our country don’t seem to reflect this trend, even after deregulation, which means that the prices of petrol and diesel should change as per global prices,” he stated.

Citing knowledge from the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC, Government of India), he stated crude oil Indian basket as on September 8, 2022 was USD 88 per barrel, which was USD 116 in June this yr.

He stated after elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, the petrol and diesel costs have been elevated 9 instances in 10 days between March 22 and March 31, 2022.