Congress leader Sonia Gandhi condemns fuel price hike

In a strong letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has criticised the series of fuel price hikes over the past week. She has said there is no logic to such an increase in the time of COVID-19. She has accused the government of making profits off of people when they are down and out.

In her letter she said “the economic impact of COVID-19 is depriving millions of jobs and livelihood, devastating business bit and small, rapidly eroding the income of the middle class, even as farmers are struggling to sow the crop of the kharif season. Given that the international price of crude oil has fallen by approximate nine per cent over the last week, the government is doing nothing short of profiteering off its people – when they are down and out.”

She said that the government is seeking to earn extra revenue of nearly three lakh crore rupees by these hikes and that the burden on people is not justified.

Oil prices have been at a record low for the last six years. Yet the government’s revenues have been enriched by the increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel in 12 instances.

Ms Gandhi has urged PM Modi to roll back the fuel hikes and pass on the benefits of low prices to the people. Her statement comes on a day when petrol and diesel prices were hiked in metros. This marks the 10th straight day of the hike/