Rahul Gandhi doing what he is best at, spreading 'lies', says BJP on fuel price issue

The BJP on Wednesday accused Rahul Gandhi of spreading "falsities" and speaking "lies", soon after the Congress leader attacked the Modi government over the issue of fuel price rise. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said an LPG cylinder price was Rs 1,241 on January 1, 2014 and Rs 1,080 on March 1 in the same year, when the Congress-led UPA government was in power, against Rs 834 it costs now.

He noted that Gandhi quoted the subsidised price during the UPA government while referred to non-subsidised cost of the cylinder during the BJP government.

"Rahul Gandhi has yet again done what he is best at. He has spread falsities and he has lied," Patra told PTI, accusing the Congress leader of giving misleading information on the proposed monetisation scheme as well.


Noting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement, he said the government has also had to deal with the legacy fallout of the oil bonds worth Rs 1.4 lakh crore issued by the UPA dispensation.

After Gandhi took a jibe at the government by referring to the GDP rise as gas, diesel and petrol price increase, the BJP leader hit back saying, "Those who ran a government of CNP -- corruption, nepotism and policy paralysis -- are trying to spread falsity about India's GDP."

The "historic" rise of 20.1 percent in the GDP in the first quarter this fiscal following an over 24 percent contraction during the corresponding period in the last fiscal underscores Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decisive leadership, he said.

Patra accused Gandhi of lying that the government was selling off its assets through monetisation, asserting that it has made clear that they will be leased out for a specific period and money will be used for the public good.

The ownership will remain with the government, he noted.

Patra said Gandhi could not give a "straight" answer to a question on whether the Congress-ruled states will slash VAT on oil prices to reduce their prices.

"It shows the Congress is all about talk but doing nothing," he said.

Gandhi on Wednesday slammed the government over the rising price of domestic cooking gas, diesel and petrol, and alleged that an amount of Rs 23 lakh crore has been earned by increasing prices of these commodities in the last seven years.

He also alleged that while sections such as farmers, salaried class and labourers were being "demonetised", a few "industrialist friends of Modi" were being monetised.