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‘Long queues also due to high rates of petrol, diesel’: Rahul targets govt again
The Congress party will launch a countrywide agitation from July 7 to July 17 to protest against the rising fuel prices.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the central government over rising fuel prices and said that the long queues outside the metro stations and other public transport spots are not solely due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19) restrictions on travellers but also due to rising fuel prices.
“Long-inconvenient queues for public transport aren’t just due to Covid restrictions. See the rates of petrol-diesel in your city to find out the real reason,” Gandhi said via a tweet, adding a hashtag tax extortion. With Wednesday’s tweet, the Congress leader continued his attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over rising fuel prices and inflation.
The Congress party will launch a countrywide agitation from July 7 to July 17 to protest against the rising fuel prices. The party made the decision at a meeting of the party general secretaries and various state in-charges which was chaired by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi on June 23.
The leaders of the opposition party accused the Centre of reaping profits from people using excise duty and taxes on petrol and diesel which have led to a spike in fuel prices across the country.
Petrol prices have risen above ₹100 in megacities like Mumbai and Bengaluru. A litre of petrol in Delhi is costing ₹98.81 and in Kolkata and Chennai ₹98.64 and ₹99.89 respectively. Petrol prices soared above ₹100 in Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, Hyderabad and Jaipur.
India urged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to phase out its production cuts. He told the oil producers’ cartel that India will buy oil wherever it gets competitive rates. Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan after meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo last week said he expects the prices to be ‘a little bit sober’. “OPEC meeting is supposed to be there in the next few days, and I hope the price will be a little bit sober, that is our expectation,” Pradhan said on Tuesday ahead of the OPEC meeting on Thursday.
