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Rahul Gandhi leads fuel hike protest by Congress MPs in Delhi
Fuel price hike: Several opposition parties, including the Congress, have been attacking the government over the surge in prices of petrol and diesel.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led a protest against fuel price hike by Congress MPs - both from Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha - in Delhi. Gandhi, a vehement critic of the BJP-led government, has stepped up his offensive against the ruling party in the last few days amid a surge in fuel prices. The protest is being held at the iconic Vijay Chowk.
The Congress also launches its three phase campaign - 'Mehngai-mukt Bharat Abhiyaan' - against the centre from Thursday, which will continue till April 7. “In the last 10 days, petrol and diesel price have been increased nine times. We demand that the rising prices should be brought under control. The Congress is holding nationwide protests on this issue today,” Gandhi told reporters.
"We had predicted that as soon as elections in five states will conclude, the fuel prices will be hiked. We demand that fuel prices be rolled back. The government cannot understand the difficulties being faced by the public because of the rise," Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told ANI. In a video shared by the news agency, the MPs were also seen shouting slogans against the govermment.
India saw another surge on Thursday - the ninth revision in 10 days - as per litre cost was raised by another 80 paise. Delhi now sells petrol at ₹101.81 per litre while diesel is being sold at ₹93.01 litre. In Mumbai, the country's financial capital, one litre of petrol now costs ₹116.72 while diesel costs ₹100.94 per litre.
The opposition has been attacking the government even as several union ministers have said the spike in prices is linked to the Ukraine war, which began February 24. The prices were surged after a break of four months and critics have linked it to the end of assembly elections in five states after the BJP claimed victory in four states.
On Wednesday, Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet, and said PM Modi has a "daily to-do list". "Prime Minister's daily to-do list - how much to increase in petrol, diesel and gas rates, how to stop discussion on rising expenses, how to show hollow dreams of employment to the youth, which public sector company to sell and how to make farmers more helpless," he wrote in Hindi. He used the hastag #RozSubahkiBaat, in a swipe over PM Modi's radio address - 'Mann Ki Baat'.
Apart from Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav is another opposition leader who has slammed the government over the issue.
Earlier this month, union minister Hardeep Singh Puri in parliament, amid the Ukraine war, said the fuel prices will ultimately be determined by the oil companies but the government is committed to ‘provide relief to consumers at point of consumption.’
(With inputs from ANI)
