Fuel price hike will trigger inflation: Congress

New Delhi: Congress on Friday attacked the Centre over the ₹3 per litre increase in petrol and diesel prices, blaming the Modi government's policies for the hike. The party said the move would trigger inflationary pressures. "Ghalti Modi sarkaar ki, keemat janta chukayegi (The public will pay the price for Modi government's mistake)," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X. "The ₹3 shock has already arrived. The rest of the recovery will be done in instalments."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the economic crisis in India stemmed not just from the global fuel situation but also from a "leadership crisis" in the Modi government. "This crisis is a Modi government-made crisis. The common people of the country are paying the price for it from their own pockets on petrol, diesel and LPG. When diesel prices rise, it creates a cascading effect of inflation across the entire country," he said.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said at a press conference that the Modi government had collected ₹43 lakh crore through taxes on petrol and diesel over the past 11 years, amounting to "₹1,000 crore a day since 2014". Yet, he alleged, the BJP government had a pattern of increasing fuel prices on the conclusion of elections every time.