New Delhi: Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said that he had asked the PM to pass on the benefit of the global oil price crash to Indian consumers, but instead "our genius" hiked excise duty on fuel.
His jibe at the Prime Minister came a day after the government hiked excise duty on petrol and diesel by a steep Rs 3 per litre each to garner about Rs 39,000 crore additional revenue.
"Just 3 days ago I had requested @PMOIndia to pass on the benefit of the global oil price crash to Indian consumers, by slashing the prices of petrol & diesel in India. Instead of heeding this advice, our genius has gone and hiked #exciseduty on fuel!" Gandhi tweeted.
He also tagged a video of a press conference in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman purportedly avoids answering a question on why government has not passed on the benefits of the global oil crash to the people.