New Delhi: As fuel prices witnessed a hike for the 11th consecutive day on Friday, the Congress slammed the Centre and alleged that the Modi government earned Rs 21.50 lakh crore by repeatedly increasing the fuel prices since 2014.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that since May 2019, the government has increased the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 15.21 and Rs 15.33 per litre respectively, referring to the BJP as 'Bhayankar Janloot Party'.
"On May 26, 2014, the crude oil was priced at $108.05 per barrel while on February 19, 2021 the price of crude oil is $63.65 per barrel. Despite this, the price of petrol in May 2014 was Rs 71.51 per litre which is now increased to Rs 90.19 per litre. This shows that the price of crude oil has decreased by 41 per cent but the government increased its prices by 26 per cent today," Surjewala said.
He added that the high excise duty by the Centre has impacted both the poor and the middle class.
"The Congress demands that the excise duty on fuel be reduced to provide relief to 130 crore citizens as the prices of petrol and diesel have reached Rs 100 and Rs 90 respectively in many parts of the country," Surjewala said.
